Beim 2:0 (0:0) der Königlichen gegen das weiterhin sieglose Betis Sevilla war der Franzose der gefeierte Mann. Mit seinem achten Torschuss brachte Mbappé Real in Führung (67.), wenig später verwandelte er einen Foulelfmeter sicher (75.). Im vierten Anlauf brach er damit den Bann in der Liga und brachte Real auf Kurs.
„Erschienen“, titelte Reals Hausblatt „Marca“ groß auf Seite eins, dazu ein Foto des jubelnden Mbappe. „Er ist angekommen“, schrieb „AS“. Vier Punkte beträgt allerdings bereits der Rückstand auf den Erzrivalen FC Barcelona, der unter Trainer Hansi Flick mit vier Siegen perfekt in die Saison startete. Real verhinderte nach zwei Unentschieden gegen Mallorca und Las Palmas immerhin einen weiteren Punktverlust und ist nun Zweiter.
“After the game against Las Palmas, we knew we had to win. And we did that in a difficult game. We are Real, and in the end we win, and we do it with style,” stressed Mbappé. Coach Carlo Ancelotti was delighted with his new star’s first goals. However, Real “never put pressure on Mbappé to score goals,” said the Italian, and followed up with praise: “He was very efficient in the penalty area, he had a lot of chances. I think it’s important for him to score goals, but we value the collective work more.”
Real struggled for a long time, and Mbappé only had half chances at first. In the middle of the second half, Federico Valverde set up the Frenchman with a backheel, Mbappé ran after the ball and shot straight away. It was the beginning.
The 25-year-old fulfilled a childhood dream in the summer when he moved from Paris St. Germain to Madrid – and things got off to a good start for the superstar: in the European Super Cup against Atalanta Bergamo, he scored the 2-0 goal for the Champions League winners. In La Liga, however, Mbappé was a face of false starts – until his two goals against Betis, which were cheered by the fans.