As far as debut matches go, things couldn't have gone much better for Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid. The France star made his long-awaited first appearance for Los Blancos in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta on August 14 . He scored his side's second goal in a 2-0 victory in Warsaw, with Federico Valverde having given Madrid the lead from Vinicius Junior's brilliant assist.
One goal and one trophy in his first 83 minutes — not to mention the standing ovation when he was substituted late on — is not a bad haul from your first game for a new club. But Mbappe's impact went beyond the clever finish from Jude Bellingham's layoff, or the fact he helped Madrid win the cup for a record sixth time . Below are three key takeaways from Mbappe's dream Madrid debut, which point to far greater things to come.
STREAM:Real Madrid matches in the US for the 2024/25 season on ESPN+ Three key takeaways from Kylian Mbappe's Real Madrid debut 1. Following in Cristiano's footsteps Mbappe has made no secret of Cristiano Ronaldo being an idol of his growing up, and to sign for Real Madrid and take the No. 9 jersey — just as the Portugal great did 15 years ago — was truly a dream come true.
Indeed, there was an eery similarity to the way Mbappe and Ronaldo were presented to a packed-out Santiago Bernabeu stadium . The former Monaco sensation even copied Cristiano's "hala Madrid" to the crowd in homage to his hero. He went one better with his tribute act on Wednesday.
Mbappe, just like Ronal.