Champions League: Bellingham hails Mbappe as 'huge player' for Real Madrid after win over Stuttgart

New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) Midfielder Jude Bellingham has heaped praise on Kylian Mbappe for making an immediate impact in his UEFA Champions League debut for Real Madrid, as Los Blancos started their title defence with a 3-1 win over Stuttgart.

Madrid settled the game in the second half, with Mbappe making it 1-0 fresh out of the dressing room. Tchouameni's through ball picked out Rodrygo and the Brazilian squared for Mbappe to tap in and grab his first Champions League goal as a Madridista, his third in a row in all competitions (four goals).

He almost doubled his tally but Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nübel stood tall to deny the Frenchman.

"It’s what he does, I'm not surprised at all. I didn't even realise it was his debut, I just thought it's another game he'll score in. He always delivers so far, it's a lot of pressure coming to a club like Madrid, but he's taken to it really easily and the lads love him already. He's going to be a huge player for us, this season and beyond," said Bellingham to TNT Sports.

Overall, Mbappe has scored 49 goals in 74 UEFA Champions League appearances, taking the competition by storm ever since bursting onto the scene with Monaco in 2016/17. Still just 25, the France forward is already up to ninth on the list of all-time Champions League scorers (excluding qualifying), level with Zlatan Ibrahimoviv and Andriy Shevchenko inside the top ten.

Analysing the team's Champions League opening game and his first Real Madrid goal, Mbappe said, "We wanted to kick off with a win. It was a tough game, but the Champions League is always tough. The Champions League has changed and the important thing is to win to see if we can qualify quickly. It's a good night. Now we'll go back to the league and hopefully, we'll win at home on Saturday."