The Frenchman scored the only goal, but Alonso’s side were otherwise underwhelming in their season-opening win
Kylian Mbappe grabbed the only goal of the game as Real Madrid began their La Liga campaign with a sluggish showing against Osasuna on Tuesday night. The French superstar converted from the spot shortly after half-time, which proved enough for an underwhelming 1-0 win at the Bernabeu for Los Blancos.
Madrid endured a rather slow start. Osasuna were happy to sit back and invite pressure, while the home side had few attacking ideas. Dean Huijsen provided Real’s best attempt of the first half, forcing a tidy save with a long-range effort.
Mbappe opened things up with a sublime piece of skill six minutes after the restart, cutting inside his man before being clipped in the box. The referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot – and the Frenchman rolled it home.
Los Blancos probed and prodded in search of a second. Arda Guler lashed one narrowly over and Mbappe caused problems on the right, but another goal never came, and Alonso seemed content to rotate as the minutes wound down. Just before the final whistle, Osasuna were reduced to 10 men after an off-the-ball incident.
GOAL rates Real Madrid’s players from the Santiago Bernabeu…
