Real Madrid managed to beat Stuttgart with a score of 3-1 in the matchday 1 League Phase of the 2024/2025 Champions League held at the Santiago Bernabeu, Tuesday (17/9/2024).
Real Madrid’s three winning goals were scored by Kylian Mbappe, Antonio Rudiger, and Endrick. Stuttgart had equalized thanks to a goal by Deniz Undav.
Thanks to this result, Real Madrid started their journey in the League Phase of this season’s Champions League convincingly, and now sits at the top of the standings.
Real Madrid dominated the match since the beginning of the first half. However, Kylian Mbappe et al. had difficulty breaking down Stuttgart’s layered defense. The score remained 0-0 until halftime.
Real Madrid were only able to break the deadlock when the second half had not even been going on for a minute. Taking advantage of Rodrygo’s assist, Mbappe successfully broke through Alexander Nubel’s goal.
Remarkably, Stuttgart showed fierce resistance and managed to equalize the score to 1-1 through Undav’s goal in the 68th minute. The duel became more open.
Real Madrid, who continued to besiege Stuttgart’s defense, finally managed to take the lead again through Rudiger’s goal in the 85th minute. Real Madrid’s victory was sealed by Endrick’s goal at the end of the match.
Thibaut Courtois was voted the best player in Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Stuttgart.
UEFA panelists voted Courtois as the Player of the Match of the match. The Belgian goalkeeper was considered to be an important actor in Real Madrid’s success in getting full points at home.
Courtois did indeed perform exceptionally under the Real Madrid goalpost. The 32-year-old goalkeeper was recorded to have made six saves, even though Deniz Undav had broken through.
The six saves made by Courtois could be said to be very crucial in keeping Real Madrid focused on finding the winning goal despite facing fierce resistance from the visiting team.
Endrick’s career at Real Madrid has just begun. He is still 18 years old, has extraordinary talent, and is said to be one of the top strikers in the future.
Indeed, Endrick did not immediately step on the gas this season. He was criticized for his poor performance in several matches, appearing to be out of tune with the team’s game.
Even so, Endrick answered the criticism elegantly. He scored a spectacular goal that sealed Madrid’s first victory in the 2024/2025 UCL. Interestingly, the goal was considered a fantastic goal, for a top striker.
In the 90+4 minute, in a quick counter-attack scheme, Endrick brought the ball towards the opponent’s penalty box. On his left was Kylian Mbappe, on his right was Vinicius Junior, but Endrick still chose to shoot directly.
A long-range shot, from outside the penalty box, the ball hit the right side of the opponent’s goal hard. Golazo!
