Bellingham hails Mbappe’s brilliance after stellar Real Madrid debut

WARSAW — Jude Bellingham was full of praise for Kylian Mbappe after Real Madrid defeated Atlanta 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup final at National Warsaw Stadium.

Goals from Federico Valverde and debutant Mbappe helped Real Madrid claim a record-breaking sixth UEFA Super Cup title by beating Atalanta at the National Stadium in Warsaw as Carlo Ancelotti became the first coach to win five editions of the competition.

Mbappe scored a goal for the club in the 68th minute. For much of the first half in the Super Cup match, it seemed like the French forward might struggle to find his rhythm in a more traditional striker role, a position that required different movements and responsibilities than he was used to at Paris Saint-Germain or with the national team.

“He’s just one of those players, isn’t he? He is brilliant—so sharp, has so much technical quality, and he’s a great teammate as well. We have a new-look team and it seemed to just click tonight. Sometimes it takes a bit of time, the first half we were still adjusting, and the second half it all came together and we were brilliant,” said Bellingham, who was named Player of the Match.

The game started cautiously between the two sides until the 25th minute when Atalanta were the first to make their intentions clear. They came close to scoring with a cross from De Roon which, after Militão got his head to it, hit the crossbar.

Before the break, Madrid responded in kind with the clearest chance of the first half. Vini Jr. slipped in a good pass from the edge of the area and Rodrygo smashed his left-footed shot against the crossbar.

After the break, Courtois denied Pasalić’s header, and Madrid began to push for a goal. Bellingham’s shot in the 56th minute went high, but Madrid capitalised on their momentum. Mendy regained possession, linked with Bellingham, who set up Vini Jr. The Brazilian beat his defender and delivered a perfect pass for Valverde to score in the 59th minute, making it 1-0.

Nine minutes later, Mbappe latched onto to Bellingham’s precise pass to double Madrid’s lead, arrowing in his first goal for his new club and also added a new title to its trophy cabinet.