IMAGE: Endrick scores Real Madrid’s third goal against Real Valladolid during the LaLiga match at Santiago Bernabeu, in Madrid on Sunday. Photograph: Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters
Second-half strikes by Federico Valverde, Brahim Diaz and Endrick gave feeble Real Madrid an unconvincing 3-0 win over lowly Real Valladolid on Sunday, earning the defending champions their first win of the LaLiga season.
Kylian Mbappe’s home debut as a Real Madrid player is unlikely to live long in the memory as the France captain and most of the club’s so-called “New Galacticos” were ineffective in a lacklustre performance.
Following what looked like a promising start to Mbappe’s era with a 2-0 win over Europa League champions Atalanta to lift the UEFA Super Cup less than two weeks ago, Real have put on dreary performances to kick off the LaLiga season, with a 1-1 draw at Mallorca last week.
IMAGE: Brahim Diaz celebrates scoring Real Madrid’s second goal with teammate Federico Valverde. Photograph: Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters
On Sunday, although Real dominated possession, they struggled to breach Valladolid’s ultra-defensive approach in a slow-paced first-half in Madrid’s sultry summer heat.
Despite an early volley by Mbappe that was palmed away by goalkeeper Karl Hein, Real were out of ideas up front, missing England maestro Jude Bellingham who will be out for several weeks due to a leg muscle injury sustained in training on Friday.
Other than a couple of individual efforts by Rodrygo, they were unable to create any chances and went to the changing room to the sound of boos from some of the home fans.
Real came back unchanged yet livelier in the second half and broke the deadlock from a free kick in the 50th minute, with Valverde slotting in a thunderous strike from the edge of the box.
IMAGE: Brahim Diaz scores Real Madrid’s second goal in the 88th minute. Photograph: Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters
Arda Guler and Rodrygo adjusted the angle to tee up the ball for Valverde who flashed a daisy-cutter across the Santiago Bernabeu turf and into the back of Hein’s net, just inside the left post.
Rodrygo, Guler and Mbappe missed three chances minutes later in a short spell when the locals looked more inspired but they slowly reverted to the first-half version of themselves and were lucky not to concede goals in clear chances squandered by Valladolid substitutes Mamadou Sylla and Raul Moro in the 80th and 82nd minutes.
Late strikes by substitutes Diaz, in the 88th minute, and Endrick, six minutes into added time, secured Real a win that failed to tell the full story of their performance, suggesting they may need to work harder than expected to fit Mbappe into their squad.
Real Madrid are third in the LaLiga standings with four points from two games, two behind leaders Barcelona and Celta Vigo.
Bayern edge Wolfsburg to give Kompany winning Bundesliga start
IMAGE: Serge Gnabry celebrates with teammates after scoring Bayern Munich’s third goal against VfL Wolfsburg. Photograph: Carmen Jaspersen/Reuters
A late goal by Serge Gnabry secured Bayern Munich a 3-2 Bundesliga victory at VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday and gave their new coach Vincent Kompany a winning start.
Wolfsburg began brightly but it was the visitors who made the better chances in the first half, taking the lead after fine work by Frenchman Sacha Boey down the right to set up Jamal Musiala for an easy tap-in.
Bayern made a poor start to the second half, however, as they gave away a penalty when Tiago Tomas was brought down by Boey, and Lovro Majer made no mistake from the spot.
Wolfsburg created all kinds of trouble for the visitors’ defence and, in the 55th minute, Patrick Wimmer squared the ball for Majer, who slotted it home to score his second goal.
Winger Jakub Kaminski’s own goal brought Bayern on level terms before Gnabry, assisted by Harry Kane, struck into the corner in the 82nd minute to secure all three points for the Bavarians.
“We are very happy and are happy to take it. It’s good for morale and self-confidence,” Gnabry said.
“It was a very exhausting Sunday afternoon. The equaliser straight after halftime knocked our socks off a bit. Then we were down 2-1, which made it even more difficult. But at the end of the day, we were rewarded and won 3-2.”
IMAGE: Jamal Musiala scores the first goal for Bayern Munich against VfL Wolfsburg. Photograph: Carmen Jaspersen/Reuters
With Kane and new signing Michael Olise looking lively and frequently finding promising positions, Bayern created a host of other chances, but Wolfsburg goalkeeper Kamil Grabara made some brilliant saves to deny the duo.
Thomas Mueller, who equalled a club record with his 709th competitive appearance for Bayern, breathed life back into his side after coming on as a substitute in the 65th minute and was decisive in their win.
The record German champions, who were upstaged last season by Bayer Leverkusen, appointed former Burnley manager Kompany to succeed Thomas Tuchel after their disappointing third-place finish last campaign.
Wolfsburg boss Ralph Hasenhuettl was proud of his side after they produced a spirited performance.
“We had a few chances in the second half. We’ve developed nicely over the last few months. We played fantastically in the second half,” Hasenhuettl said.
“What we can do better is to score the third goal. You can’t defend everything away against Bayern. We threw ourselves into every duel.”
Napoli recover spark in home win over Bologna
IMAGE: Napoli’s players celebrate after Giovanni Di Lorenzo scored the first goal against Bologna. Photograph: Ciro De Lucaa/Reuters
Napoli beat Bologna 3-0 in their lively Serie A home opener on Sunday, securing a first win for new manager Antonio Conte.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and substitute Giovanni Simeone were all on target for the hosts, sparking hope among fans at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium that Napoli can put behind them the woes of last season when they finished in 10th place.
Forward Giacomo Raspadori threatened Bologna’s goal inside the first minute, striking low from outside the box just wide of the post.
Napoli, the 2023 champions, grew into the game as the half wore on and Kvaratskhelia had a great chance just before the break, when he nodded Matteo Politano’s sublime cross from a distance into the crossbar.
Defender Di Lorenzo eventually gave Napoli the lead in first-half stoppage time, scoring with a simple finish from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s precise cross.
It was Napoli’s first competitive goal in front of a home crowd since their 2-2 draw against AS Roma on April 28.
The hosts increased the tempo even more after the break and Kvaratskhelia doubled their advantage in the 75th minute.
The Georgian winger slalomed his way past Bologna’s defence to net a solo effort from the edge of the box, before Simeone made it 3-0 from close range in added time.
Bologna, who finished fifth in Serie A last season to secure Champions League football for the first time, had more possession throughout the game but struggled to create real danger inside Napoli’s half.
IMAGE: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scores the second goal for Napoli in the 75th minute. Photograph: Ciro De Luca/Reuters
Bologna were unbeaten in their previous three league games against Napoli and kept a clean sheet in both games against them last season.
They lost defender Martin Erlic to an injury 20 minutes into the game.
Napoli were without one of the league’s best scorers Victor Osimhen, who is expected to leave the club after four years.
Napoli, who were humiliated 3-0 at Hellas Verona last week, provisionally moved up to 11th in the standings. Bologna remain on one point following their 1-1 draw at home against Udinese last weekend.
Fiorentina were held to a goalless draw by promoted Venezia earlier on Sunday and Torino came from a goal down to beat Europa League winners Atalanta 2-1 at home before Empoli claimed a 2-1 win at AS Roma.
Atletico beat Girona at home for first win of the season
IMAGE: Koke celebrates scoring their third goal with Marcos Llorente after scoring Atletico Madrid’s first goal against Girona. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters
Goals from Antoine Griezmann, Marcos Llorente and Koke secured Atletico Madrid a 3-0 win over Girona in their first home game of the LaLiga season on Sunday.
Atletico put on a solid performance at the Civitas Metropolitano stadium to overcome last season’s surprise package. They moved up to four points, having drawn at Villarreal in their league opener.
Griezmann opened the scoring in the 39th minute when he sent his free kick into the bottom far corner after Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga got a yellow card for handling the ball outside of the box.
“The fans and the players were really looking forward to coming home after such a long time. A perfect night and let’s keep it going,” Griezmann told DAZN.
“I was waiting to see where the keeper was standing and I saw that there was a little gap at the far post and with a bit of luck it went in.”
IMAGE: Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring for Atletico in the 39th minute when he sent his free kick into the bottom far corner. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters
Llorente doubled the advantage with a powerful long-range effort past Gazzaniga following a solo run three minutes after the break.
“(Llorente) is like that, he always gives everything for the team,” Griezmann said. “No matter what position you put him in, he gives 100% and these are the players we need at the club.
Captain Koke, who came on early in the second half, sealed the rout with a tap-in in stoppage time off a Llorente cross for his first goal since the 2021-22 season.
“The goals came at the worst time for us. In the first half we did some very good things. The team leaves with a heavy defeat, but there are positives,” Girona midfielder Oriol Romeu said.
Diego Simeone’s side next host promoted Espanyol on Wednesday, while Girona face Osasuna a day later.
“We all have the same enthusiasm, we have to keep it up. We have to give our all in training and then in the matches,” Griezmann added.
