Stuttgart couldn’t have wished for a more challenging return to the UEFA Champions League, being drawn to play away to the defending Champions, Real Madrid, yet their task was made even more gargantuan with the inclusion of Kylian Mbappe, who opened the scoring in what was a 3-1 victory.

The French international was making his European bow at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, with fans having only previously seen him grace the famous stage in the competition with Paris Saint-Germain.

Expectation is high whenever he steps foot on the pitch, but it was fitting that once again he delivered for Los Blancos as they began their continental campaign.

Carlo Ancelotti welcomed back Jude Bellingham to the team, although the Italian experimented with a rather different shape for the visit of the German side.

Much of the early chances fell to Stuttgart, with Enzo Millot missing a chance from close range after some lackluster Madrid defending.

Millot again got himself in a position to score just minutes later, this time setting his shot to bend into the far corner of the net, although Thibaut Courtois was able to catch the ball with ease.

It was becoming a little embarrassing for Ancelotti, watching how Stuttgart were carving his team open in the first-half, although the Italian is still yet to find the balance his best teams have always displayed.

Angelo Stiller was next to break into the penalty area, gliding beyond defenders, and his shot was only stopped by a tremendous diving effort from Courtois.

Real Madrid thought they had been given a break just before half-time when the on-field referee awarded the hosts a penalty.

Maximillian Mittelstadt made a poor challenge, yet VAR intervened and overturned the call.

Mbappe eventually found the way through

It’s hard to imagine Ancelotti raising the requisite ire during a half-time team talk, yet his side returned to the pitch reborn.

It took less than a minute for Real Madrid to take the lead, with Rodrygo getting into space inside the box, and cleverly cutting the ball back to Mbappe who easily converted a tap-in from close-range.

Stuttgart were rocked and they could have been put down from the resultant restart. Mbappe again found the ball in his customary left-sided position, before cutting inside and ripping a curling shot towards the corner. Alex Nubel was somehow able to produce a fine save.

Disaster, though, wasn’t far around the corner for Los Blancos, with the German visitors equalizing with just under 20 minutes to play.

A corner was flicked across goal by Deniz Undav, only to be nodded back across in the opposite direction by a teammate, and Undav was able to produce a clever header into the far corner of the net, leaving Courtois with no chance.

However, Real Madrid conjured up their classic Champions League resolve to score a late winning goal.

A Luka Modric corner landed on the head of Antonio Rudiger, who powered a header into the net to ease tensions around the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Endrick has yet to fully hit form in the Spanish capital, but the teenage Brazilian was able to score a beautiful goal after he took a shot from distance which caught Nubel off guard and fizzed into the bottom corner.