Real Madrid began their UEFA Champions League title defense with a hard-fought 3-1 home win over Stuttgart on Tuesday, with late goals from Antonio Rudiger and Endrick leading to victory.
Last year’s Bundesliga winners Stuttgart were arguably the better team for long periods at a sold-out Santiago Bernabeu, threatening to cause a huge upset for the 15-time European champions.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a series of critical saves before half-time to keep Madrid level as he kept out Jamie Leweling and Angelo Stiller.
Dani Carvajal also tipped Deniz Undav’s shot onto his own post as Los Blancos rode their luck, but Kylian Mbappe drew first blood shortly after the restart, finishing from close range after Rodrygo led a quick counter-attack.
But Stuttgart refused to go away and it looked like a famous result when Undav equalized in the 68th minute when a cross from home team Leweling headed completely unnoticed to the far post.
However, in another late show from Madrid in Europe, they grabbed all three points as Rudiger headed home Luka Modric’s corner in the 83rd minute.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side then took care of the result in stoppage time, Endrick picking out Alexander Nubel from distance to score his first Champions League goal.
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