Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored a goal and raised a trophy on debut for Real Madrid.
The France captain pulled on the white jersey of the Spanish champions for the first time in a competitive match and marked the occasion with the second goal in their 2-0 win over Atalanta BC in the UEFA Super Cup.
Mbappe, who started and played 82 minutes at the National Stadium in Warsaw, met a pass from Jude Bellingham across the area with a shot into the top corner in the 68th minute.
Photo: EPA-EFE
After putting both arms across his chest in celebration, he was congratulated by Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, the other members of Madrid’s star-studded strike force that might be sending tremors across European soccer heading into the new season.
Federico Valverde tapped home a cross from Vinicius in the 59th minute to set Madrid on their way to a record sixth victory in the Super Cup, the annual match between the UEFA Champions League winners (Madrid) and the UEFA Europa League champions (Atalanta).
Madrid are used to records — no team has more UEFA European Cup titles than their 15 — and owning the world’s best players.
Photo: Reuters
Mbappe certainly belongs in that category and it was a strong start to life at the world’s top soccer club, one he dreamed of playing for as a child.
Now he is Madrid’s No. 9, starting the Super Cup as the team’s central striker — to limited success — before moving out wide for the second half.
However, Vinicius and Bellingham, stars of Madrid’s runs to the Champions League and La Liga titles last season, were the game’s standout players as Carlo Ancelotti’s team eventually overpowered Atalanta after an even first half that saw both sides hit the crossbar.
Madrid defender Eder Militao deflected a cross onto his own bar, before Rodrygo fired in a shot just before halftime that struck the top of the bar.
Mbappe wowed the crowd with a couple of tricks and spins, but did not make too much of an impact in the first half.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
Captain Vijay Kumar led the way yesterday as the Hsinchu Titans claimed the Taiwan Premier League title at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), beating PCCT by 27 runs. The weather was a topic again, but not the rain that played a role in previous matches in the often-delayed tournament. Kumar, who made 80 not out from 63 deliveries, and teammate Vishwajit Kumar (58 from 43) rescued the Titans from a precarious state at the end of the power play in the T20 match. The visitors were put in to bat and struggled to 26-3 as PCCT
RSS