MADRID - Kylian Mbappe slammed home two penalties for Real Madrid as the record 15-time winners opened their Champions League campaign with a controversial 2-1 comeback win over Olympique Marseille on Tuesday.
Timothy Weah opened the scoring for the French visitors before Mbappe levelled from the spot and Madrid defender Dani Carvajal was sent off for headbutting Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
Roberto De Zerbi's enterprising Marseille were well placed to push for a famouse win at the Santiago Bernabeu until Facundo Medina was harshly penalised for a handball and Mbappe converted his second penalty.
"For me it's a penalty, but I understand there are people who don't (think so), we're all lost with this rule," Mbappe, who reached 50 goals for the club, told Movistar.
"They say it's a penalty, I shoot it and put it in, that's all."
Madrid coach Xabi Alonso was dealt an early blow on his first European game at the helm of the Spanish giants when Trent Alexander-Arnold limped off with a thigh injury, and had to scrap with 10 men after Carvajal's dismissal.
"The two goals came from penalties and our performance deserved more than that... we should have won by more goals and (not doing that) made the game tougher for us," Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois told Movistar.
"It was a good win to start with but it got tricky."
Alonso benched Vinicius Junior among several changes to the side which beat Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday to continue Madrid's 100 percent start in La Liga.
They had a short pre-season following the Club World Cup, giving Alonso more incentive to shuffle his pack, while the coach has also insisted he will keep as many players involved as possible.
Mbappe, who watched former side Paris Saint-Germain win the Champions League last season after he left for Madrid, almost opened the scoring with a spectacular overhead effort which dropped just wide.