Three talking points ahead of Lille vs Real Madrid | UEFA Champions League | OneFootball

A 3-1 win over VfB Stuttgart at home ensured that Real Madrid started off the UEFA Champions League campaign on the best note possible.

The game against the Germans was a tricky affair with Los Blancos being under pressure for a greater part of the game. The scoreline, in that sense, is misleading as it was only an 83rd-minute strike by Antonio Rudiger that created the decisive gap.

Later tonight, the men in white take to the field again in the Champions League, this time away from home at Stade Pierre-Mauroy against LOSC Lille.

The two teams have never met before in Europe, as was the case between Stuttgart and Real Madrid, and it will be interesting to see how matters proceed on the night. After all, Los Blancos are coming fresh off a setback in the derby.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Lille vs Real Madrid.

Time for calm after the storm

The derby at the Civitas Metropolitano on Sunday night was not one that left positive memories in the Real Madrid dressing rooms.

The game was unpleasant for a plethora of reasons, some sporting and some not related to events on the field, but it is safe to say that the Merengues’ dressing room is far from satisfied with the outcome.

For starters, the game against Atletico Madrid was very turbulent from start to finish, especially concerning the atmosphere at the event on the night.

While playing a derby away from home always involves hostile circumstances, incidents of objects being hurled at Thibaut Courtois and chants of his death ringing around the stadium are a bit much.

If the trauma left by the fans was not enough, the game itself took a late twist in added time to take two points away from Los Blancos, two points that would have left the league table in a completely different light.

Angel Correa’s late equaliser on the night helped Atletico Madrid level the scores in the 93rd minute in a game that Real Madrid looked set to win and thus ensured that the Merengues failed to capitalise on Barcelona’s slip-up earlier in the week.

Tonight’s game in France will be Real Madrid’s first game since that painful draw and a lot will thus depend on how the squad have taken the blows from the previous game mentally.

Chance for Andriy Lunin

Lunin’s opportunity is here. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Thibaut Courtois personally endured a very rough outing at Civitas Metropolitano as his mere celebration of Real Madrid’s goal was enough to see objects thrown towards him and vicious chants in the stands.

The Atletico Madrid management has changed the narrative in recent days and tried to make the Belgian the villain when in reality he was the biggest victim. If the psychological blow at the stadium was not enough, the player even took a physical hit.

Tests carried out after the game revealed that the goalkeeper had suffered an injury to the abductor muscle of his left leg and will thus be ruled out at least until after the international break.

Needless to say, this comes as a big blow to the manager’s plans especially considering how critical Courtois has been for the team this season. In fact, he single-handedly helped Real Madrid to a win in their last UCL clash with a stunning 6 saves.

All eyes tonight will thus turn to Andriy Lunin who will have his first chance to impress after penning a renewal.

While it is clear that a fit Courtois is ahead of him on the pecking order, the Ukrainian star has proven to be an able resource for the manager and will look to carry forward his good form against Lille.

After all, his importance over the rest of the campaign may well boil down to the image he creates over the coming weeks.

A surprise return

Real Madrid may have lost one player ahead of the trip to France through injury. However, they have also regained the services of an equally crucial star ahead of time.

Kylian Mbappe was initially ruled out with a thigh injury last week in Real Madrid’s game against Deportivo Alaves and was said to be ruled out for at least three weeks.

The French phenom thus missed the derby clash against Atletico Madrid and his absence on the field was felt on the night as Real Madrid lacked an out-and-out goalscorer.

Despite initially being sidelined until the end of the international break, Mbappe has returned to the squad in just a week and has travelled with the team to France.

Reports state that the player feels in top physical shape and that he has recovered from what was just a mild muscle overload. While the manager may not start Mbappe given his recent hiccup, the superstar will almost certainly play a role off the bench.

It thus remains to be seen to what extent the World Cup winner participates tonight in what was always going to be a special game for him against the club his brother represents.

Ethan Mbappe’s injury, however, means the world will not see the siblings at war.