Spanish club Real Madrid won the UEFA Super Cup for a record 6th time, beating Atalanta 2-0 in Warsaw on Wednesday night. It was Carlos Ancelotti’s club record-tying 14th title as manager.
The win featured the debut of French superstar Kylian Mbappe who managed to score on his first full outing with his new team. The reigning UEFA Champions League holders had to wait until the second half to find the opening goal via Federico Valverde who put them in the lead. Jude Bellingham then put in an excellent run which ended with Mbappe doubling their lead to put the match away.
There was a large build-up to this game surrounding Mbappe’s impending debut after his blockbuster acquisition from Paris Saint-Germain. It looked like he would struggle to live up to expectations early but his second half goal silenced any doubters.Two of his teammates Carvajal and Modric also shared the spotlight, becoming the first players to appear in five Super Cup wins.
Despite the loss, Atalanta generally held their own on their first appearance in the Super Cup. They will go into their Series A season with the high hopes of challenging for the top position.
This was also Madrid’s record-equalling ninth appearance in the Super Cup bringing them level with Barcelona. They have a record of 6 wins and three losses in the championship.
Ancelotti is the first coach to record five Super Cup wins and is one of five men to have lifted the trophy both as player and coach. Other coach/player winners include Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone, Luis Enrique and Zinédine Zidane.
Match Recap
Real Madrid’s attack-minded starting XI kept possession confidently in the opening minutes as Atalanta attempted to get a foothold in the matchup.
Mbappe got his first real attempt to score in the 15th minute but Isak Hien threw his body on the line to block the opportunity. Soon after, Valverde searched for the back of the net with a skimmer that was almost met by Vinícius Júnior’s outstretched leg.
After slowly working themselves into the game, Atalanta edged forward, almost getting on the board when Éder Militão diverted Marten De Roon’s cross-shot onto the woodwork.
At the very end of the half, Vinícius found Rodrygo in space inside the penalty area, but the Brazilian could only manage an off-balance drive which crashed against the crossbar. Atalanta would have been happy to see the score still 0-0 going into the break.
Real Madrid came into the second half with urgency, as Mbappé burst forward but fired wide in the early minutes. In the 59th minute, they were finally able to break the deadlock as Bellingham got one through to Vinícius Júnior. Junior then made an outside-of-the-boot delivery across the goal which Valverde was able to chip in easily to make the score 1-0.
Just nine minutes later, Mbappé was the recipient of a beautiful pass from Bellingham to strike his first goal for his new club. From there Real Madrid held their lead firmly to win their first piece of silverware for the season.
Overall, Real Madrid had 13 shots on goal compared to the 9 from Atalanta and took 5 corners to their 2. The Italian squad couldn’t muster many chances to score, only getting 2 shots in total on target.
The Player of the Match was awarded to Jude Bellingham for his important role in setting his team up for success. He was able to drive his team forward in the second half, winning tackles and assisting in the second goal to Mbappe. .
Starting Lineups
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Militão, Rüdiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouaméni; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior; Mbappé
Atalanta: Musso; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolašinac, Zappacosta, De Roon, Éderson, Ruggeri; Mario, Pašalić; De Ketelaere, Lookman
