Conor Gallagher’s energetic debut helps Atlético Madrid to victory over Girona
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.
