MADRID — The Real Madrid signing who has been the subject of much controversy this summer received the ball just outside the area. With one touch, the ball went away from the nearest defender and with another he effortlessly fired a low shot past the goalkeeper. The goal extended Madrid's lead over Real Valladolid to 3-0 in added time. Match over.
But it wasn't Kylian Mbappé who scored on his long-awaited home debut at the Santiago Bernabéu. It was another newcomer, Endrick. In fact, Mbappé wasn't even on the pitch. Madrid's No.9 had been replaced by the Brazilian teenager ten minutes earlier as his side took a 1-0 lead.
First impressions are important, especially after such a long wait. The moment Mbappé stepped out onto the Bernabéu pitch in a Real Madrid shirt was a moment he and the club's fans had been waiting for for a long time. And it didn't go as they would have hoped.
There was no goal, no arms-crossed, smile-filled celebration. In the end it didn't matter (Madrid won comfortably thanks to second-half goals from Federico Valverde, Brahim Díaz and Endrick), but the performance of Mbappé and the team as a whole suggested that this Madrid side is still in the process of developing.
In 86 minutes on the pitch, Mbappé was the Madrid outfield player with the fewest touches (47) and the one who attempted the fewest passes (26). And as for what really matters, how he will be judged – scoring goals – he failed to score a single goal.
He had four shots, three of which were saved by Valladolid goalkeeper Karl Hein. The third was his best move, a clever, improvised backheel when Vinícius Júnior's cross came just behind him. His biggest regret in the final minutes was his fourth shot, which went wide behind the defence. It was Mbappé's last action before being substituted by coach Carlo Ancelotti.
At that point, at 1-0, the game was not yet won. But Ancelotti, who had already brought on Luka Modric, Díaz and Dani Ceballos, wanted a change in attack. Endrick came on. Two minutes later, Díaz scored Madrid's second, sealing the match before Endrick put the finishing touch in added time.
Mbappé's position at Real Madrid is pretty clear. He is the centre-forward, with Vinícius and Rodrygo on either wing, so he is in no danger of losing his place. Speaking after the match, Ancelotti insisted that Mbappé is not limited by playing in the centre. However, against a compact and orderly Valladolid, he had little space to operate and few opportunities to show his greatest quality: speed.
There were moments of frustration. During the first-half break, after half an hour, with temperatures of 34 degrees Celsius in Madrid, Mbappé was seen deep in conversation with Vinícius. Their body language and gestures suggested they were discussing how to better coordinate their movements and Madrid's pressing.
There were even some premature boos from the Bernabéu crowd after 40 minutes, when midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni over-directed a pass and fired at Mbappé's feet on the edge of the area, a shot that the striker would never be able to control.
There were times when he nearly missed and others that made us think about what lies ahead. In the second half, Vinícius dropped back, entered the box and then advanced with the ball, almost slipping it past Mbappé. The two players combined brilliantly for Mbappé’s finest moment, the pass that Hein saved. And his final chance, a deflected shot, was the kind he would normally have converted, perhaps if he wasn’t nervous and so eager to impress.
It didn't help that Mbappe's replacement, Endrick, took his chance and looked so nonchalant in doing so. There have been plenty of doubts about the 18-year-old's readiness for this, the highest level, but here, in a brief glimpse, he looked ready. “He has great potential,” Ancelotti said. “With the goal, he showed all his qualities.”
Of course, this wasn’t really Mbappé’s debut at the Bernabeu. He’s been here three times before, wearing the Paris Saint-Germain shirt: playing in a 3-1 defeat in February 2018, scoring in a 2-2 draw in November 2019 and, most memorably, impressing in a 3-1 defeat in March 2022. Fans know his quality and will be patient.
But on his home debut, he failed to perform as so many of Madrid's greats have done. Cristiano Ronaldo scored in his first game at the Bernabéu. Ronaldo Nazário scored in the first minute, with his first touch, coming off the bench in October 2002. More recently, Jude Bellingham scored in the 95th minute to give Madrid a 2-1 win over Getafe last season, cementing his already blossoming relationship with Madrid fans.
For Endrick, the short wait to score in La Liga is over, a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Mbappé's remains.
