Mbappe gifts his Real Madrid jersey to Nadal after dull La Liga debut against Mallorca
France skipper Kylian Mbappe started a new chapter in his career with his La Liga debut on Monday, but it didn’t go as planned.
Mbappe, who joined his dream club this season, failed to make an impact on his league debut in Spain as Real Madrid started their title defence with a 1-1 draw against RCD Mallorca.
Mbappe scored on his Madrid debut in the UEFA Super Cup final to help his team clinch the trophy in a 2-0 win, but he looked off-colours on his league debut and failed to create any chance.
Meanwhile, after the match, Mbappe met tennis legend and Real Madrid’s loyal fan Rafael Nadal at the Son Moix Stadium.
The French forward gave him his Los Blancos jersey as the two met at the tunnel and hugged each other.
Nadal, a 22-time grand slam winner, often comes to the stadium to support his favourite club, Real Madrid.
He was a bit disappointed with the team’s performance, but receiving a special gift from Mbappe on his league debut would compensate for the match result.
It was Rodrygo who scored the opening goal of the match for Madrid in the 13th minute.
Jude Bellingham started the move inside Mallorca’s box and passed the ball to Mbappe, who failed to find the gap and leave the ball for Vinicius Jr as the Brazillian passed it to Rodrygo, who cut inside to make space for himself and score the goal.
However, but the hosts equalised with Vedat Muriqi’s goal in the 53rd.
Meanwhile, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti started with the same squad that beat Atalanta, with Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and Mbappé in attack.
“They change position from time to time,” Ancelotti said of Vinicius and Mbappé.
“Sometimes Mbappé plays more centrally and sometimes one of the two has to occupy this flank, without a particular plan. It depends on how they feel about it.”
Madrid defender Ferland Mendy was sent off deep into second-half stoppage time for a hard foul on Muriqi.
“I don’t want to make excuses for anything, but we just need to do better and with a better attitude. We can learn a lot from this match. It’s quite clear where our problems could come from,” Ancelotti said.
