Mbappe won and converted the decisive penalty at the Bernabeu on the evening of 19/8. In the 50th minute, the French forward burst into the penalty area, cut inside, and was brought down by Juan Cruz. Mbappe stepped up to take the resulting penalty, calmly slotting the ball into the bottom right corner, sending goalkeeper Sergio Herrera the wrong way.

Since the start of the 2016-2017 season, Real Madrid has been awarded the most penalties in La Liga with 85, significantly more than Barcelona (61) and Atletico Madrid (51). Mbappe himself has scored eight penalties in La Liga since the beginning of last season, the same as Ante Budimir, with no other player having a better record during this period.

Real dominated the match, enjoying 71% possession and registering 18 shots with five on target, compared to Osasuna's two shots with none on target.

Mbappe missed several chances, scoring just once from six attempts. However, the 1-0 result was enough to give Real a positive start to the La Liga season under new manager Xabi Alonso.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca, one of the biggest questions surrounding Alonso was whether he would continue with the three-center-back formation he employed at Leverkusen or revert to Real’s familiar back four. At the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Alonso experimented, alternating between a 4-4-2 and a 3-5-2.

In yesterday's La Liga opener, Real opted for a four-man defense consisting of Eder Militao alongside new signings Trent Alexander-Arnold, Huijsen Dean, and Alvaro Carreras. The attack featured Arda Guler, Brahim Diaz, Mbappe, and Vinicius, while Rodrygo, a reported target for Man City and Arsenal, started on the bench.

Franco Mastantuono made his debut for Real. Photo: Bleacher

Franco Mastantuono made his debut for Real. Photo: Bleacher

In the second half, Alonso introduced new signing Franco Mastantuono, the Argentinian midfielder acquired from River Plate for a total fee of USD 72.6 million, instead of Rodrygo. At 18 years and five days old, Mastantuono became the third youngest Real Madrid player to appear in La Liga, after Samuel Eto’o in 1998 (17 years and 270 days) and Martin Odegaard in 2015 (16 years and 157 days).

Real’s next match is away to Oviedo on 24/8.

Lineups:

Real: Courtois, Alexander-Arnold (Carvajal 68), Militao, Huijsen, Carreras, Valverde, Tchouameni, Guler (Ceballos 90), Diaz (Mastantuono 68), Vinicius (Garcia 78), Mbappe

Osasuna: Herrera, Catena, Boyomo, Juan Cruz (Garcia 85), Rosier, Torro, Moncayola, Bretones, Ruben Garcia (Munoz 66), Oroz (Gomez 78), Budimir

Hong Duy