Real Madrid began their Champions League title defence on Tuesday with a hard-fought 3-1 home win over Stuttgart thanks to late goals from Antonio Rüiger and Endrick that cancelled out Deniz Undav’s equaliser.
Stuttgart were arguably the better team in the sold-out Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, with Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois thwarting the German team’s attacks with a series of crucial saves.
However, Madrid took the lead in the first minute of the second half with a quick counterattack when Rodrygo crossed for Kylian Mbappe, who scored from close range.
Stuttgart equalised in the 68th minute through Undav’s header, but Madrid substitute Luka Modrić took a corner to Rüdiger in the six-yard box, who headed the ball past the goalkeeper in the 83rd minute.
The 18-year-old Endrick scored shortly before the end with a powerful long-range shot, securing a narrow victory for the home team.
“If you watch Stuttgart closely, you know that they are an attacking team that scores a lot of goals but can also be caught off guard. I’m happy that we were able to leave the pitch with a win,” Courtois, man of the match, told Movistar Plus. “They put us under hard pressure at the beginning and we suffered, sometimes because of our own mistakes, but we got better and could have scored more often.”
“I am happy with our reaction after the equaliser because in this new format of the Champions League, winning is very important.”
Coach Carlo Ancelotti faced a major problem in defence, with David Alaba still recovering from a cruciate ligament tear sustained last season and Éder Militão battling persistent muscle problems in his leg. He therefore let full-back Dani Carvajal start at centre-back and Stuttgart aggressively attacked the right side of Madrid’s defence, coming close to scoring on several occasions.
Carvajal and substitute full-back Lucas Vázquez, both 1.73 metres tall, were easy prey for Stuttgart and often found themselves in awkward positions, giving the German team chances throughout the first half.
An inspired Courtois made world-class saves in the first 20 minutes to deny attempts by Jamie Leweling, Enzo Millot and Angelo Stiller.
Real tried to fight back, but Mbappe, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo all missed good chances. But Stuttgart came close to scoring on a counterattack in the 29th minute through Undav, when his shot was deflected onto the crossbar by Carvajal.
To remedy his team’s problems, Ancelotti brought Militao off the bench at half-time and returned Carvajal to his usual position as full-back. A defensive error by Stuttgart’s Maximilian Mittelstädt gave Real the first goal in the first minute of the second half.
Aurélien Tchouaméni sent a long ball towards Rodrygo on the right touchline, which Mittelstadt failed to clear, leaving the Brazilian striker unmarked and able to control the ball on his run before crossing to Mbappe, who slotted home from the far post into the empty net.
Real Madrid continued to increase the pressure, Rodrygo missed several chances and Vinicius Jr. hit the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the box in the 59th minute.
Stuttgart remained dangerous on the counterattack and Courtois had to fend off several attempts by Leweling before Undav equalised with a header following a corner.
Stuttgart repeatedly threatened Madrid’s chaotic defense, but the Spaniards took the lead again through Rüdiger.
Vinicius Jr. missed a free kick in a one-on-one against Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nübel in the 93rd minute, two minutes before Endrick’s rocket-like shot from well outside the penalty area.
