Kylian Mbappe buried two penalties to overcome a fine finish from Tim Weah as Real Madrid opened their Champions League campaign with a narrow 2-1 win over Marseille. It was a rather mixed night from Los Blancos, who lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to injury and saw Dani Carvajal sent off, but managed to snag a late win in their search for Champions League redemption.
Marseille grabbed their opener on the break. It was a nicely crafted move, with ex-Manchester United man Mason Greenwood feeding USMNT winger Weah, who lashed home from close range past Thibaut Courtois.
But the visitors were leaky at the back, and never seemed equipped to hold onto their lead. Madrid responded swiftly after veteran French midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia tripped Rodrygo – handed an unlikely start over Vinicius Jr – in the box. Mbappe stepped up to slam home the penalty.
Madrid had plenty of chances as the game wore on. Their goal-scorer stung the palms of the goalkeeper on a couple of occasions, and Arda Guler created problems. But Marseille, too, were dangerous on the break, as Weah forced Courtois into action here and there.
A hugely rash moment from Carvajal with less than 20 minutes to go seemed to hand the visitors the advantage. The veteran defender headbutted Geronimo Rulli after a heated exchange, and was given his marching orders once the referee had been sent to the monitor following a lengthy VAR check.
But Los Blancos, in typical Champions League fashion, found a way. They needed a stroke of luck, with Facundo Medina inadvertently handling the ball while making a tackle in the box. The referee rather harshly handed Madrid their second penalty of the night and Mbappe, inevitably, converted to snatch the three points.
GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from the Santiago Bernabeu…
AFPGoalkeeper & Defence
Thibaut Courtois (7/10):
Made a few crucial saves to keep his team in it. Could do nothing about the goal.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (N/A):
Lasted fewer than four minutes before being removed with what seemed to be a hamstring injury.
Eder Militao (5/10):
Rather disjointed in his defending. Picked up a silly yellow and wasn't particularly clean in his distribution.
Dean Huijsen (8/10):
Composed after giving away a silly red at the weekend. Won his headers and was strong in his duels.
Alvaro Carreras (7/10):
Solid at left-back. Was effective one on one against Mason Greenwood, and gave as much as he got.
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Aurelien Tchouameni (7/10):
Solid at the base of midfield. Won the ball back a lot, passed well, but could really do with shuffling it forward more quickly.
Federico Valverde (7/10):
Covered plenty of ground, helped out defensively, and moved the ball effectively, too.
Arda Guler (5/10):
Tricky and dangerous in the final third. Linked up with Mbappe well and created all sorts of clever angles. But lacking defensively, asleep as he gave the ball away leading up to the Marseille goal.
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Franco Mastantuono (6/10):
Full of energy, but could have been cleaner. Well denied after one nice winding run through and had a clear chance easily saved. Will be encouraged to grab another start.
Kylian Mbappe (8/10):
Created problems with his pace and dribbling ability. Scored two penalties, and could've had one or two more.
Rodrygo (7/10):
Won the first penalty, created three chances, and turned in a fine hour of work before being subbed. Not bad on the left, funnily enough.
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Dani Carvajal (3/10):
Came on, played well for 70 minutes, then got sent off for a braindead headbutt.
Brahim Diaz (5/10):
A solid 30 minutes on the wing. Doesn't look entirely sharp yet.
Vinicius Jr (6/10):
Ran at his man relentlessly, sort of won the pen that sealed it. There will be more to come.
Raul Asencio (N/A):
Late cover at right-back after Carvajal was sent off.
Xabi Alonso (6/10):
What a weird night for him. Lost one right-back to injury and a second to a red, and saw his team win without playing very well. Welcome to Real Madrid in the Champions League.