By CNN
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Kylian Mbappé said that he feels “no pressure” to perform at Real Madrid as he scored twice in a 2-0 victory against Real Betis on Sunday.
The second-half brace was Mbappé’s first time getting on the scoresheet in La Liga, lifting Real to second in the table after a slow start to the season.
“I’ve scored goals all my career, I’ll score goals for sure,” the Frenchman said after the match, per ESPN. “The goals will come. Three games (without scoring) are a lot for me, but it’s okay, I have the confidence of my teammates.
“There’s no pressure, it’s football,” he added. “I have my quality. I’m here to be Kylian. There’s no pressure. I’m happy, I want to work.”
Expectations are high for Madrid this season following Mbappé’s arrival from Paris Saint-Germain. The reigning Spanish champion – which is suffering from injuries to key players Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga – is currently four points adrift of eternal rival Barcelona after four games, but the victory against Betis will feel like a step in the right direction.
Mbappé, who scored in Real Madrid’s UEFA Super Cup victory over Atalanta last month but had otherwise been goalless this season, couldn’t put away two decent chances in the first half as Real searched for an opening goal.
It then looked like he had missed a glorious chance at the start of the second period before being flagged offside, though he did get his long-awaited first La Liga goal soon after.
Federico Valverde’s brilliant, flicked, backheel pass found Mbappé in space behind the Betis defense, and a neat, first-time finish gave the home side a 1-0 lead.
That was Mbappé’s first goal at the Bernabéu, and he was able to add his second less than 10 minutes later when, after a lengthy video assistant review, Vinícius Jr. was deemed to have been onside and brought down by goalkeeper Rui Silva.
Mbappé was handed responsibility for the penalty, putting it past Silva, and Real saw out the victory from there, the team’s second in the league this season.
“I was looking forward to scoring in this legendary stadium, the best in the world, but the most important thing was the win,” the 25-year-old Frenchman, who had 24 shots in La Liga before getting his first goal, said after the match.
“Following the game in Las Palmas [which ended 1-1], we knew we had to win and we did just that. It was a tough game, like every game, but we are Real Madrid and we got the win in the end.”
Manager Carlo Ancelotti called it a “happy day,” adding: “We’re not anxious or frustrated. We’re very excited and motivated to try to do better. We deserved to win today and we played better and with more cohesion between everyone.”
Elsewhere in La Liga, Barcelona continued its perfect start to the season with a huge 7-0 win against Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Raphina scored a hat-trick, his first for Barça, while Robert Lewandowski, Jules Koundé, Dani Olmo, and Ferrán Torres were also on target for Hansi Flick’s side.
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Published
5:05 AM EDT, Mon September 2, 2024
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04:58
– Source:
CNN
