Three things we learned as Marseille fell to Kylian Mbappé inspired Real Madrid

On their return to the UEFA Champions League, Olympique de Marseille would fall to a narrow defeat to 10-man Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. A strike from Timothy Weah would give Marseille the early lead, but a clumsy tackle from Geoffrey Kondogbia and a harsh handball on Facundo Medina gifted Kylian Mbappé two goals from the spot.

For the first ten minutes of the game, Marseille struggled to escape their half. Madrid pinned them back with a suffocating high press. Playing against this situation is the bread and butter of a De Zerbi side, and something that his teams usually relish playing against (with notable exceptions), but Marseille were far too sloppy. It was clear that the occasion was getting to them as they frequently lost the ball when trying to play out from the back.

This had been the moment that the club had been working towards for the entirety of De Zerbi’s first season, and now that they were here, the nerves were palpable. In the first half alone, Marseille conceded 11 shots on target, with Gerónimo Rulli bailing the team out (albeit his footwork did contribute to his side’s struggles). The second half was far better, with Madrid creating only four more shots on target.

What was apparent even early into the match was that if Marseille could find a way past the press, there was space for them to attack. Timothy Weah had a venomous-looking chance in the 12th minute, but his shot had too much power on it and flew out for a goalkick. Ten minutes later, and he would have an opportunity to redeem himself.

Marseille pounced on a poor touch from Arda Güller, Mason Greenwood picked the Turkish international’s pocket, darted upfield and then laid the ball off to Weah. The US international picked his spot, beating Thibaut Courtois at his near post. Madrid dominated the chances across the match, but there was something undeniably threatening to Les Phocéens’s game.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s fluffed chance near the stroke of half-time would prove to be a what-if moment for the Ligue 1 side. The forward had a quiet evening, largely starved of service, but he was spotted by Rulli. Aubameyang used his physicality to fight off Éder Militão, turn, sprint, and fire away, but his shot could only kiss the side netting.

It’s fair to say there was no love lost between Marseille and Kylian Mbappé… truly, there was never any love to begin with. The Frenchman spent six years at Marseille’s arch-rivals, Paris Saint-Germain, where he was the architect of many bruising defeats and the focal point of Marseille supporters’ ire. During his time in France at AS Monaco and PSG, Mbappé faced Marseille 16 times, winning 14 and drawing twice.

Goals came frequently during these encounters, with Mbappé scoring 10 times and assisting three. And tonight it was like the France captain was back in his home country, as the forward continued his impressive record against Marseille, registering a brace from the spot kick. Despite moving to Spain, Mbappé proves once again to be the spectre haunting Marseille’s dreams.