The French superstar, who joined Los Blancos on a free transfer this summer, was introduced to a rapturous reception at the National Stadium and produced a moment of brilliance to seal the win.
Real struggled to find their rhythm in a first half dominated by Atalanta, with Marten de Roon’s effort rattling the crossbar the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock.
However, the introduction of the second half saw a transformed Real side, and Federico Valverde opened the scoring after 59 minutes, tapping in Vinicius Jr’s cross.
The game was effectively sealed 10 minutes later when Mbappe, played through by Jude Bellingham, fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner.
“It feels good,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti told TNT Sports after the game. “A good game. Second half much better. We had more space in front. We showed our qualities. Atalanta played really well. We are happy. The first game of the season and we started well. Mbappé did really well. He combined well. We have to be able to play together. This is good for us.”
Bellingham, who impressed alongside Mbappe in midfield, added: “Really fun. We have a new look team. It seemed to just click tonight. Sometimes it takes time. The first half we were still adjusting. The second it all came together and we were brilliant. Really nice. It’s going to be a long year if we want to win everything, which is what we want to do. But you have to enjoy nights like tonight. Come Sunday [at Mallorca in La Liga] it’s straight back to work. I don’t know if I’ll always score goals or make goals, but hopefully I’ll always be involved in helping the team win, and that’s the most important thing for me. Mbappé is one of those players. A great team-mate. He works like a dog for the team. Credit to him, he deserves it. Not every game is going to be like this, we’ll have to suffer at times.”
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