Three questions and three answers from Real Madrid 2-0 Atalanta

Real Madrid won the UEFA Super Cup for a record sixth occasion as they overcame Italian side BC Atalanta with a 2-0 win in Warsaw, Poland. The victory was hardfought, relying on a Fede Valverde tap in during the second half to open the scoring after both teams had chances hit the woodwork in the first period. Then the moment everyone was waiting for sealed the win as Kylian Mbappé got a debut goal to make it 2-0 with a powerful finish inside the box.

Three answers

1. How would Carlo Ancelotti fit all of his attackers into this line-up?

Pre-match, Ancelotti said, “I have a very big problem. All summer I have been thinking about who to put in and who not to. It has ruined my holidays.” You can see why. Here, he managed to shoehorn in his four major stars, Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo Goes and Kylian Mbappé, for his debut. However, even then he was leaving players like the promising Arda Güler and Brahim Díaz, who had a great pre-season, on the bench. The line-up, which gave great freedom to all three, worked well with Vini on the left, Mbappé central and Rodrygo on the right. They connected well, particularly from the left flank, with Mbappé’s movement deep and off the shoulder impressing. It might not have been perfectly fine tuned just yet, but the system worked.

2. How would Toni Kroos be replaced?

There is no replacement for Toni Kroos, but Ancelotti had to find a way to adapt his team to life without the German maestro and in this case, that came through dropping Bellingham back into midfield and keeping Aurelién Tchouameni in the holding role. Fede Valverde, wearing the number eight jersey for the first time, completed the midfield three. The trio looked well-versed playing alongside another one and overcame some early jitters defensively. In particular, Valverde stepped up, not only with his goal, but leading the midfield in passes, with 50 of 59 attempts completed, while Bellingham registered two chances created including his assist.

3. How fit would the squad be?

Six of the starting 11 didn’t play a single minute in Real Madrid’s pre-season and only returned to training in the last week after involvement in the international tournaments to the very end. That was always going to be a major challenge, but of those six, four played the full 90 minutes and showed no sign of fatigue or exhaustion. In fact, Los Blancos looked in better shape towards the end of the game than Atalanta did, and had no problem seeing out the game. If anything, it was more of a question of a slow start. The better indication could come in Mallorca on Sunday night, where Ancelotti may have a decision to make about some of his regulars from his strongest line-up.

Three questions

1. Can anyone compete with Real Madrid’s European dynasty?

With victory in Warsaw, Real Madrid move clear as the leading side in the UEFA Super Cup with six titles, overtaking AC Milan and FC Barcelona who have won five each. The result means that no side can match their tally in any of Europe’s elite competitions. It also poses an intriguing question for Real Madrid about the importance of FIFA’s upcoming Club World Cup tournament next summer. What importance the club give to it could depend on the course of the season, but it must be the next step for Los Blancos after making Europe their own with this domination.

2. Did Real Madrid even need Eduardo Camavinga?

The injury to the Frenchman in training before this game was the lowlight of the trip to Poland, and he now looks set to miss up to two months of action with a sprained knee ligament. Even so, the Real Madrid midfield was imperious in his absence with Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni seeing out the full 90, while Jude Bellingham also looked in excellent shape as he recorded an assist in a strong display. Off the bench, Luka Modrić’s experience was crucial to see the 2-0 lead out to victory, and even Dani Ceballos got a run out. The real test won’t come in Warsaw, but in the weeks ahead.

3. Now Kylian Mbappé has opened his account, how many goals will he score?

Before making his Real Madrid debut, Kylian Mbappé had never before scored on his first appearance for any team. With Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and France, he always had to wait to adapt before getting his first goal, but not in the white jersey of Real Madrid. Mbappé scored with his first shot on target, earlier firing one wide and having another attempt on goal blocked, to score his first Real Madrid goal. It wasn’t bad going at all for a player making his first outing alongside his new team-mates in a new system, and playing as a central forward almost like a number nine, rather than the wide roles in which we have regularly seen him in the past. This was just a sign of things to come.