The story should have been about Kylian Mbappé starting his quest for his first Champions League title with a perfect opening night.

And while Real eventually secured victory after late goals from Antonio Rudiger and Endrick, a disjointed display almost saw Stuttgart pick up a point at the Bernabeu.

The Germans dominated the early stages, with Real relying on Thibaut Courtois to keep the score level, with VAR also disallowing a penalty from the Champions League champions after Rudiger went down in the penalty area.

Mbappe, who arrived from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, completed a fluid attack early in the second half but instead of pushing on, Real continued to struggle to control the midfield. Stuttgart equalised midway through the second half, with Rüdiger heading the ball ahead and Endrick securing the points with a brilliant run and goal.

Dermot Corrigan analyses the action in this story.

How did Mbappé perform on his big night?

Mbappe has already experienced the Champions League at the Bernabeu with PSG, with some fantastic individual performances and goals, but ultimately it was a disappointment for his team. Tonight was the first time the Frenchman played at the stadium in the competition in his new team’s colours, and he really enjoyed the experience.

Even when most of Madrid’s players had not started well in the first half, Mbappe looked the sharpest of his team. He collected the ball 30 yards out, ran easily past a defender to make room for a shot from the edge of the box that was easily saved by Stuttgart keeper Nubel. Then, out of nowhere, he slid easily past his marker on the left side of the box before unleashing a shot that tested Nubel even more.

(THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)

Within 23 seconds of the restart, Mbappe had his goal. When Mittelstadt missed his save, allowing Rodrygo to drive down the right flank, Mbappe timed his run to stay offside and meet the cross for a simple finish and his first Champions League goal for Madrid (49th in total).

Almost immediately, Mbappe was free again, and went for goal himself, even with Jude Bellingham unmarked inside. He finished the match with six shots on target, four on target, even if only one ended up in the net.

It was by no means a classic night for Mbappé, and there is certainly more to come for the Frenchman, but after such a long wait he is now fully up and running for Madrid in his and their favourite competition.

Why didn’t Madrid control the midfield?

It was a tense ninety minutes, with plenty of chances at both ends of the pitch, but that was mainly due to problems in Madrid’s midfield.

Carlo Ancelotti started Aurelien Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham, both returning from injury, in the centre. Neither looked fully fit, coming in and out of the game at times, and neither gave Madrid much control of the ball. It’s not uncommon for a team to come to the Bernabeu and top their possession statistics, but Stuttgart did it, on their return to European competition after more than a decade away.

It was clear how much Madrid miss Toni Kroos, who retired from football at the end of last season despite being just 34. Kroos was an automatic starter in Ancelotti’s XI, with his range of passing from midfield dictating the tempo of even the toughest games.

(David Ramos/Getty Images)

Tchouameni and Bellingham have a lot of quality, but neither has shown that they can step into Kroos’ shoes and control the game from the centre circle.

Ancelotti’s frustration with the turn of events was clear to see and shortly after Stuttgart’s more than deserved equaliser, he took off the Frenchman and sent on the experienced Luka Modric in his place.

Modric, who crossed the ball for Rudiger’s goal, was joined in the centre by Fede Valverde, while Bellingham was pushed further forward. It did little to solve the problem and the action continued to rage from start to finish, with both teams creating chances.

Finding a new way for Madrid to control games now that Kroos is gone has been one of Ancelotti’s big challenges this season. The Croat showed his quality with the ball for Rudiger’s winner, but how long can Modric, 39, be the answer?

Defensive issues persist

Madrid also lost Nacho Fernandez last summer, which was not as dramatic as Kroos’ departure but does mean Ancelotti is without a key member of last season’s squad.

Nacho was always useful to have around, he could fill gaps in defence when needed and last year, in the Champions League final victory against Borussia Dortmund, he started as a central defender.

The Bernabeu hierarchy decided not to replace Nacho when he accepted an offer from Saudi Arabia in the summer. Instead, 27-year-old Jesus Vallejo, who last played in a La Liga match for Madrid in May 2022, was retained rather than sent out on loan again.

Ancelotti clearly doesn’t appreciate Vallejo, so he tried right-back Dani Carvajal as a central defender, as he has done in the past. It didn’t work tonight. Back-up Lucas Vazquez struggled at right-back for the first 45 minutes and was dropped at half-time, having already been booked.

The plan was to rest Eder Militao, as the Brazilian had a muscle problem he had recently suffered during the international break with Brazil. But Ancelotti had to let Militao play at half-time, given all the chances Stuttgart had and how busy Courtois had been.

Even with Militao alongside Rudiger, Madrid still didn’t look all that solid, with Courtois having to bail them out once again. The lack of midfield protection didn’t help matters, but the overall impression was that Madrid’s squad is at least one defender short, at least until David Alaba returns from his long-term knee injury.

How crucial was Courtois (again)?

The opening phase was open and exciting, with Stuttgart dominating against a sluggish Madrid, who took a long time to get going.

Thibaut Courtois came into action after just two minutes, when it was far too easy for the visitors to break through the middle of the pitch, and Jamie Leweling fired from an angle that Courtois saved well. A misplaced pass from stand-in right-back Lucas Vazquez then allowed Denis Undav to send winger Enzo Millot through one-on-one with Courtois, who sprang out of his line, and Millot fired just wide.

The Belgian international also made saves from Leweling and Millot. In the first 20 minutes he stopped four goals and prevented 0.93 goals, while Stuttgart surprisingly had a whopping 71 percent possession.

Then it was the woodwork that saved Madrid, as Undav’s shot deflected off Dani Carvajal, went over a stranded Courtois and hit the crossbar.

But we’ve seen this story before in the Champions League. A sluggish Madrid ride their luck, trust their goalkeeper, but survive and ultimately thrive.

Saturday September 21: Espanyol (H), La Liga, 20:00 BST, 15:00 ET

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(Top photo: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)