Kylian Mbappe caught the moment when it was vital as he had scored a penalty in the second half to provide Real Madrid with a 1-0 victory initially over a dogged Osasuna on Tuesday in the first match of the LaLiga season. This was the first win in the league as well as a new boss Xabi Alonso.
Real had much of the ball during the first half, but they failed to break down the Osasuna defence, which, nevertheless, looked impregnable. Long-range efforts were where they were able to produce their finest work, one such chance being a thunderous effort by Eder Militao that required a save by Sergio Herrera.
The nervy moment would be finally broken 6 minutes later after the restart as it was Juan Cruz who had conceded a foul to Mbappe in the box. The French superstar slotted it calmly into the spot and a wrong way was facilitated to the keeper making Madrid lead.
It was also necessary to begin with a home win. With the goal we had more opportunities and we thought we would have scored the second one, but it did not occur,” said the PSG star to Real Madrid TV.
The small lead kept the tension high. Osasuna nearly overturned the lead deep in injury time when Ante Budimir had a header he missed in a close goal. They were denied in the stoppage time when Abel Bretones was red carded on an off the pitch foul on Gonzalo Garcia.
Alonso took seizing risks, with three new signings -Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras in the defence starting. He subsequently gave his Real first debut to 18 year-old Argentine midfielder Franco Mastantuono. The young child almost scored on it but Herrera denied him.
Absentees included big-name absentees Jude Bellingham, Ferland Mendy, Eduardo Camavinga, Endrick and the suspended Antonio R mattelli R diger. Nonetheless, this was a vital win considering that their challenge rivals, Barcelona, started their campaign with 3-0 win over Mallorca.
Three points in his bag for his new manager, Mbappe said after confirming their satisfaction with the win and that they want more.
