Kylian Mbappé Shines in Real Madrid's Champions League Opener

Kylian Mbappé has started the new season like a man in a hurry.

Five games. Five goals. On Tuesday night, Inter Milan were the latest to feel the full force of Real Madrid’s new superstar in a 2-1 win to open their Champions League campaign.

The breakthrough came early at the Bernabéu. Curtis Jones coughed up possession in a dangerous area, Brahim Díaz pounced and slipped the ball into Mbappé’s path. One touch, one finish. In the 14th minute, the France captain swept a first-time effort past Josep Martínez with the kind of cold precision that has become his trademark.

Goal No. 71 in the competition pulled him level with club icon Raúl, joint-fifth on the all-time scoring list.

The numbers above him remain daunting. Cristiano Ronaldo still towers over everyone with 140 Champions League goals from his time at Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. Mbappé, at 27, is only halfway to that mountain. But the pace he is setting this season keeps the conversation alive.

Real didn’t wait long to tighten their grip on the night. Just nine minutes after Mbappé’s opener, Federico Valverde turned a half-chance into a gift. Martínez misjudged the situation, the ball ran loose, and Valverde reacted quicker than anyone, poking it away from the goalkeeper and into the net for 2-0.

From there, Madrid managed the game, but not without a late scare. The 15-time European champions conceded in the closing stages, allowing Inter a sliver of hope. It never grew into more than that. Madrid held firm, saw out the final minutes and banked a 2-1 win to start their new Champions League season with exactly what they expect: three points.

Mbappé walks away with another goal, another record matched, and another reminder that his chase of the competition’s greatest marksmen is only just entering its prime years.