Real Madrid have already secured their first title of the season before the start of La Liga. The Madrilenians beat Atalanta Bergamo in the UEFA Super Cup thanks in part to Kylian Mbappé’s debut goal
Carlo Ancelotti must have been very worried the day before the Super Cup final. After a season marked by serious knee injuries, Camavinga – who played the full distance in the Champions League final against Dortmund – also went down with a knee injury in training. Luckily for him, Camavinga only suffered a pulled inner ligament, but still had to sit out against Atalanta Bergamo. Instead, compatriot Tchouameni was allowed to start in midfield for the debut of star new signing Mbappé, while youngster Endrick took a place on the bench
Ederson rustic – Real in luck
However, Gian Piero Gasperini could also tell a thing or two about injuries – Scamacca and Sclavini, two regular players from the previous season, were missing with cruciate ligament ruptures. In attack, de Ketelaere, who had signed permanently from Milan, therefore got his chance alongside Lookman. The Nigerian had almost single-handedly shot La Dea to the Europa League title against Bayer Leverkusen with his treble
The Italian midfielder Ederson, who had also performed strongly against Leverkusen, was shown a yellow card in the ninth minute. It was not the first time the Lombard side had been ruthlessly tackled, as they increasingly took control after Mbappé’s shot was blocked in the 15th minute. It was almost 1-0 to Atalanta in the 25th minute, but Militao’s attempted clearance from de Roon’s cross hit the crossbar behind Courtois, who had no chance
From nowhere: Rodrygo also hits the crossbar
The men from the Spanish capital were aware of the early stage of the game, even after the own goal was narrowly averted. Even when Gasperini’s seemingly more experienced charges created space for counter-attacks, Mbappé, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo were unable to take advantage. It took until stoppage time of the first half before the two Brazilian wingers created the Champions League winners’ first top chance. However, Rodrygo’s shot was also saved by the crossbar (45.+1).
The second half was more open from the start. Mbappé missed early on (46′) before Courtois denied Pasalic the opening goal with a world-class save (47′). A lively back-and-forth ensued, although there were no chances in quick succession
Valverde and Mbappé crown Real’s eight-minute frenzy
Much of the play in front of the Warsaw crowd was ultimately piecemeal – until Vinicius Junior made an irresistible run past Djimsiti and crossed for Valverde, who only had to slot home (60′). The Brazilian almost got himself on the scoresheet just seconds later following a strong pass from Bellingham, but Musso made a one-on-one save and then saved the Englishman’s arcing cross (61).
It was the start of an extremely dominant few minutes for the favorites, whose decisive second goal was postponed but not canceled. Musso saved from Bellingham in the 66th minute, but two minutes later he was powerless to stop France’s international star Mbappé scoring his first goal in the snow-white kit of the Whites (68′). The applause from the Real fans was correspondingly huge when the 2018 world champion left the field (83rd) after a completely unchallenged final phase in which Djimsiti almost scored an own goal (82nd).
Both teams have their league openers coming up in a few days. While Real, now the sole record winners of the UEFA Super Cup with six titles thanks to the trophy before the start of the season, kick off in Mallorca on Sunday (9.30pm), Bergamo visit Lecce a day later (6.30pm).
