Real Madrid outplayed at Atalanta, but Los Blancos' big stars bail them out in crucial Champions League win

Real Madrid beat Atalanta 3-2 on Tuesday in a game they really needed to win

A quick glance at the scoresheet of Tuesday's game between Atalanta and Real Madrid might lead one to argue that the reigning European champions are officially back. Three of their stars – Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham – got on the scoresheet as they picked up a much-needed 3-2 win in the UEFA Champions League, correcting course on an otherwise less-than-ideal league phase campaign. Real Madrid's Matchday 6 victory, though, is a bit more complicated than that.

The reigning European champions got off to a quick start with Mbappe's 10th-minute goal, a symbol of recognition that they needed to perform in order to climb out of 24th place. Their intent was obvious to spot – they already had four shots by the time Mbappe scored, two of which were on target, and 0.86 expected goals. It was an impressive feat considering Atalanta had conceded just one goal in Champions League play before this game, and also felt like a defining moment for Mbappe after an underwhelming start to life at his new club.

The next 15 minutes were a different story, though. Atalanta began to claw their way back into the game, playing comfortably without the ball and matching Real Madrid with five shots each. By halftime, the Italian side were outshooting their Spanish counterparts eight to six, were barely short of Madrid's 1.4 expected goals with their tally of 1.32, and were essentially even on possession. Most crucially, Real Madrid let them back in by conceding a penalty, which Charles De Ketelaere converted in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.