Kylian Mbappe scored two crucial penalties to lead Real Madrid to a hard-fought victory over Marseille in their Champions League opener, despite playing with 10 men for part of the match.
Real Madrid faced early trouble when Trent Alexander-Arnold left the game after just three minutes with a possible hamstring injury. Things got worse when his replacement, Dani Carvajal, was sent off with 18 minutes left for clashing with Marseille’s goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
Marseille took the lead in the 22nd minute through Timothy Weah, who scored after Mason Greenwood stole the ball from Real’s Arda Guler. However, Mbappe equalized six minutes later with a penalty after Geoffrey Kondogbia fouled Rodrygo. Marseille’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang nearly regained the lead, but missed one chance and saw another saved by Real’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Despite being a man down, Real Madrid kept pushing. They earned a second penalty when Facundo Medina handled the ball while stopping Vinicius Jr. Mbappe calmly converted the spot-kick, securing the win for the 15-time European champions.
Mbappe’s two goals brought his season tally to six in five games, proving his importance to the team.
