Double Penalties and a Red Card Shade Real Madrid's Victory

MADRID, WEDNESDAY — Once again, "Los Blancos" demonstrated their primary habitat in the Champions League. Falling behind and playing with 10 players, Real Madrid still secured a victory. The three points marking a champion's mentality were successfully maintained by Xabi Alonso.

Real began their adventure in the 2025-2026 Champions League with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Marseille on Wednesday (17/9/202) WIB. Timothy Weah momentarily shocked the audience at the Bernabeu Stadium in the 22nd minute.

After the goal, the momentum of the match was entirely on the side of the home team. Real dominated the game in pursuit of victory. Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot in the 29th minute.

A goal from a penalty also determined the positive result for the Spanish giant. Mbappe once again defeated Marseille's goalkeeper, Geronimo Rulli, in the 81st minute. That was Mbappe's 50th goal for Real. The captain of the French national team needed only 64 matches to reach that impressive milestone.

"I'm proud to be here and experience another Champions League night. It was a complicated match for us after playing with 10 men. We showed Champions League spirit at the Bernabéu, having been in this situation before and knowing we could win," Mbappé said, as reported by Marca.

Regarding his goal record for Real, Mbappe said, "I do not set limits. I only try to help the team through goals, and if not goals, then it is through assists."

Mbappe has scored six goals and provided one assist in five matches this season. He was only absent from scoring when Real faced Mallorca in the third week of La Liga, at the end of August.

The decisive score for the advantage was created just nine minutes after Dani Carvajal received a red card for a foolish foul on Rulli. Carvajal headed Rulli in a situation where the ball was not in play.

The controversy did not completely dissipate from Bernabeu. Aside from the undeniable foul by Geoffrey Kondogbia on Rodrygo that awarded Real their first penalty, Real defender Eder Militao had previously blocked a shot from Weah with his arm in the 31st minute.

However, the referee from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Irfa Peljto, did not consider it a foul that warranted a penalty for the visiting team. The video assistant referee (VAR) agreed with Peljto's decision on the field.

The handball violation by Facundo Medina, which led to Real Madrid's second penalty, was also debatable. Before it touched Marseille defender Facundo Medina's hand, the ball struck the Argentine's foot, as he blocked Vinicius Junior's cross. This time, the referee and VAR agreed to award the penalty to the home side.

Regardless of the controversy, Real has maintained a 100 percent winning record in the first five matches under Alonso's management. Four matches in La Liga and one victory in the Champions League.

"We didn't play the way we wanted, especially in the second half, but what we needed was to start the season with a win. That's the most important thing," Real midfielder Federico Valverde told Movistar.

When asked about the controversial parade that seemed to favor his team, Valverde was reluctant to respond. According to him, Real deserved to win due to their superior performance on the field.

"I will not provide an opinion, as the match has just ended and everyone can say anything. I do not wish to discuss the referee. I prefer to focus on the team's performance. The substitutes made a difference," said Valverde, who is from Uruguay.

Aside from the two goals scored from penalties, Real truly displayed enthusiasm in their pursuit of as many goals as possible through open play. They made 28 attempts, with 15 of those on target.

The sheer number of shots demonstrated Real's direct and vertical play. They didn't need to hold onto the ball for long. Most importantly, Alonso wanted his team to penetrate the final third of Marseille's defense, the French representatives, as quickly as possible.

This is evident from Real's lower ball possession, which stood at 43 percent compared to 57 percent for the visiting team. Conversely, Marseille could only manage five shots on target against Real, guarded by Thibaut Courtois.

However, Real Madrid still has work to do to improve their scoring. Mbappé's two goals fell short of their expected goals (xG) of 3.65.

This was also due to Rulli's brilliant performance, who recorded 13 saves, equivalent to preventing his goal from conceding 1.62 expected goals against (xGA). Only a penalty conceded to the 33-year-old goalkeeper.

"Many things happened in the match. The first half was brilliant with many opportunities, but we failed to capitalize on them. The game was more balanced in the second half, so I was confident a positive result would come until the red card arrived," said Alonso as reported by the UEFA website.

"We demonstrated our mentality in the Champions League to achieve a 2-1 result. The advantage helped us defend well to maintain very important points," he added.

Alonso must think creatively to address the crisis of right-back in the next match. In addition to Carvajal receiving a red card, Alonso had already lost Trent Alexander-Arnold, who suffered an injury just five minutes into the game.