A day of debuts in Madrid brought 3-0 victories for Atlético and Real but shone the spotlight on men for whom the script had not been written. There were 140,000 people combined at the Santiago Bernabéu and the Cívitas Metropolitano, 16km and four and a half hours apart, watching Kylian Mbappé and Julián Alvarez play their first home games, but the World Cup winners who have dominated the buildup to the new season – and are on the back of shirts everywhere – were not the men who scored or took centre stage.
Instead, a deflected Fede Valverde free-kick and late goals from substitutes Brahím Diaz and Brazilian teenager Endrick, also making his debut, took a flat-looking Madrid to victory over Real Valladolid. North-east of there, 20 minutes away by moped, where Conor Gallagher made his first Atlético appearance, a dynamic presence during his half an hour in the heat, Antoine Griezmann, Marcos Llorente and then an injury-time strike from Koke led his new side to a 3-0 win over Girona.
Gallagher had seen the first two goals from the sidelines: the first, sitting on the bench; the second, from the corner where he was warming up, joining the pile of players celebrating when Llorente smashed in from the edge of the area. He saw the third from a little closer. It was 10.50pm when Gallagher came on – those late kick-offs are something else he will have to get used to – and it was hot too, still almost 30C. Nelson Vivas, the former Arsenal player who is Diego Simeone’s assistant, gave him the final instructions. There was a huge roar when he replaced Rodrigo Riquelme just before the hour; it had hardly had time to die down when the volume was raised in expectation as he immediately chased down Jhon Solís.
This was an energetic start, a brief illustration of what it is Simeone sees in him. The supporters – already fond of him after he was stuck in the city, forced to wait for the deal to be done – welcomed every run. To the left of midfield, there were many of them. Available often, he saw plenty of the ball, moving it simply and efficiently, his pass completion rate near 90%.
Mostly, he sprinted towards challenges, but there was also a dash up the left that ended with him being taken out on the edge of the area. Only, he didn’t want it to end there and turned, chased back and dumped Yangel Herrera on the turf, a flash of frustration perhaps that more had not come of it. In truth he might have got a yellow card for the challenge. There was certainly frustration, seen in his look to the sky, when his attempt to lay off an opportunity soon after was cut out. Again, though, the applause was warm on a night that ended with Alvarez on the bench, Gallagher on the pitch and the Metropolitano singing.
