By Ignacio Ortega
Almaty, Kazakhstan, Sep 30 (EFE).– Real Madrid, led by Mbappé, conquered Asia on Tuesday, defeating Kazakhstan’s FC Kairat (0-5).
The Champions League win quells the crisis that has been swirling at the Bernabéu for the last several days.
Mbappé played a key role in the game, scoring a hat-trick for the Whites, and was eager to get an inconsistent Vinícius involved.
The resounding victory came despite having flown almost 7,000 kilometers after their devastating loss at the Metropolitano against Atlético Madrid, in the team’s first match on the Asian continent in the Champions League.
It was a positive result, as Real Madrid now has six points after two games, but their performance failed to improve significantly, especially in midfield, where only Güler showed flashes of exceptional quality.
Not a fan of repeating lineups, Xabi Alonso made five changes to the starting eleven compared to the team that lost to Atlético Madrid (5-2). Vinícius joined Mbappé up front, while Bellingham and Valverde remained on the bench.
Early threats from Kairat
The home side came out fighting from the first minute. In fact, the first chance fell to the promising Kazakh footballer Dastan Satpayev, who headed the ball into the hands of Courtois less than 10 seconds into the game.
Real Madrid weathered the storm until Ceballos began receiving the ball. A forward pass from Mbappé left Vinícius alone in front of the very young Kalmurza, but the Brazilian’s shot with the outside of his right foot went wide.
After a quarter of an hour of play, Güler had the first goal at his feet after a good run and pass back from Fran García, but the Turkish player’s shot was cleared by a defender.
Güler combined beautifully with Vinícius and the omnipresent Mbappé after 20 minutes, but the Frenchman’s well-placed but soft shot on goal was tapped wide by the Kairat keeper.
Mbappé hat-trick
It was not until a mistake by the Kazakh defense that the Whites were able to open the scoring. Mastuantono, the smartest player on the pitch, won a penalty when he was brought down by the goalkeeper in a desperate attempt to clear the ball.
Mbappé scored from the spot after he sent teenager Kalmurza the wrong way (min. 25).
At that point, the game was going Madrid’s way. Kairat were barely crossing the halfway line, although the Whites’ play lacked fluidity. A disgruntled Alonso shouted himself hoarse on the sideline.
The game was crying out for a second goal, and Mbappé came close to scoring it on the verge of halftime. The Frenchman nutmegged the defender and fired a left-footed shot just wide of the post, for what could have been a spectacular goal.
Sealing the win
Real Madrid’s goal to seal the win had to wait, but not long. Mbappe took advantage of a long clearance from Courtois to outrun Russian center back Sorokin and beat Kalmurza with a subtle chip (min. 52).
However, he then missed a goal with a point-blank shot after a beautiful push and run with Vinícius. That spurred Kairat on, they had some dangerous chances, especially a shot from outside the area, which was stopped by a fine save by Courtois.
Real Madrid wasted two clear counterattacks, and Ceballos unintentionally brought down Gromyko in the area. The referee awarded a penalty, but changed his mind after consulting with the VAR.
Fortunately for Real Madrid, a nice move by Rodrigo, not without Güler’s help, allowed Mbappé to score his third goal and complete a well-deserved hat-trick, the fourth of his career in the Champions League.
It was a mid-height shot from outside the area that Kalmurza could do nothing about (min. 74).
With the Kazakh team down and out, Camavinga scored the fourth with a diving header on a counterattack (min. 83), and Brahim scored the fifth in the dying moments from a cross (min. 93).
Madrid looks ahead
Real Madrid made it clear that this season is Mbappé’s team. They will host Juventus in their next match in Europe’s top tournament on October 23. EFE