Real Madrid had to dig deep at the Santiago Bernabéu but still managed to begin their 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign with a 2-1 comeback win over Marseille on Tuesday night. Kylian Mbappé, as so often, was the difference. Two penalties from the French star not only sealed the points but also took him to 50 goals in Real colours, with 11 of those coming against Marseille across his career.
Despite Softfootball reporting that the game was supposed to be very easy for the men in white in the game’s preview, it was far from straightforward for Los Blancos. Marseille shocked the home crowd in the 22nd minute when Arda Güler was robbed by Mason Greenwood, who slipped in Timothy Weah. The American winger kept his cool, firing past Thibaut Courtois to give the visitors a surprise lead.
The response came quickly. Rodrygo drew a clumsy foul from Geoffrey Kondogbia inside the area, and Mbappé made no mistake from the spot to level the score on 28 minutes. From there, Madrid pressed hard. Franco Mastantuono struck the post, Aurélien Tchouaméni forced Gerónimo Rulli into action, and Mbappé saw several efforts denied. Still, Marseille carried a threat of their own, with Weah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both going close.
In the pre-match interview, manager Xabi Alonso warned the team not to put themselves in the position they found themselves in against Real Sociedad, but drama is inevitable when it comes to Real Madrid’s game. The second half brought more chaos. Dani Carvajal saw red for a needless headbutt on Rulli, leaving Madrid down to ten with almost 20 minutes to play.
At that stage, Marseille sensed an opening. But the visitors ruined their own momentum when Facundo Medina handled the ball in the box under pressure from Vinícius Júnior. Mbappé, cool as ever, squeezed the penalty past Rulli to clinch the win in the 81st minute and also scored his 50th goal for Real Madrid, and the team celebrated his efforts on the team’s official X handle and also posted a video of the Frenchman receiving his Man of the Match award after the game.
They Posted:
Watch the video below:
Madrid’s night carried extra significance: it was their 200th victory in the Champions League since the rebrand in the 1990s, a milestone no other club has reached. For Xabi Alonso, it was the perfect if tense start to his first European campaign as Madrid boss.
