This Sunday evening, Real Madrid was under pressure. On its home turf, the capital club had to win against Betis to avoid falling too far behind its rival, FC Barcelona, winner of its first four league games. In addition, Kylian Mbappé was also expected to deliver. A historic recruit for the biggest club in the world this summer, the Bondy player had not exactly convinced for his debut in the Madrid jersey. A scorer in his first match against Atalanta Bergamo in the European Super Cup final, the captain of the French team had still not opened his account in La Liga.
Still starting with Carlo Ancelotti at the forefront of the attack, the number 9 of the White House was keen to open his account this Sunday. From the start, the 25-year-old striker showed a lot of good will. Still too messy, he saw some of his shots go off target when they would have at least been on target if he had been confident. Finally, despite a first period that was far from bad for him, Kylian Mbappé tried too hard without success and returned to the locker room empty-handed. Finally, it was after the locker room that this September 1st became a memorable date for him. By showing himself to be more and more dangerous, the former Monaco player finally unlocked his account with a remarkable move.
Kylian Mbappé feels supported
Found on a remarkable backheel from Fede Valverde, Mbappé deceived Rui Silva with a beautiful left-footed strike to unblock his counter (67th). Developing a budding relationship with Vinícius Júnior – the two men met 15 times this evening (5 passes from Mbappé to Vinicius, 10 from the other side) – the Frenchman was also able to count on the kindness of the Brazilian who let him take a penalty that he had won. Thus offering himself a double, Kylian Mbappé was able to be replaced by Luka Modrić with the feeling of duty accomplished and with the victory in his pocket. Voted man of the match, the Bondynois had also received a standing ovation from the Santiago-Bernabéu when he came off. Finally freed, the Frenchman finally unblocked his counter in La Liga and was in heaven at the end of the match:
“It’s a great moment. I really hoped to score at the Bernabeu, in this legendary stadium, the best in the world. But the most important thing was the victory. After the match against Las Palmas, we knew we had to win. That’s what we did today in a difficult match. But we are Real, in the end we win and in style. (…) I’m very well, I’ve said it since I arrived, I’m happy, people like me a lot, even when I haven’t scored, three games for someone else is not much, but for me it’s a lot and the people at the club and the fans were with me, they give me the confidence to give everything for this club and this crest. I want to score many more goals for this club.» Carlo Ancelotti, who had the merit of leaving his attacking trio in place and bringing in the X factor Brahim Diaz to support them, also praised Mbappé’s performance at the end of the match: “Mbappé’s goal? He was never put under pressure, but this match was surely important for him. Vinicius was very selfless, he left the penalty to Mbappé. Their relationship is good.“With the Mbappé machine launched, there is no doubt that KM9 now hopes to continue. There will already be an international break with France to breathe a little.
