Kylian Mbappé Scores in Champions League as Brother Ethan Sees Red in Lille

Two matches, two brothers, two completely different nights. While Kylian Mbappé was busy doing what he does best at the Santiago Bernabéu, his younger brother Ethan Mbappé was sent off in Lille after a play that VAR review didn't let slide.

Things started well for both Mbappés. In the 12th minute, Ethan delivered a pinpoint assist that put Lille ahead against Real Betis. Just minutes later in Madrid, Kylian opened the scoring against Inter Milan: he pressed high to win the ball in opposing territory and, without hesitation, finished first-time with a low shot that found the net in the 14th minute.

The goal carried its own significance. At 27, Kylian was playing in his 99th Champions League match, and that goal was the 71st of his career in the competition. Numbers that already place him among the tournament's mainstays, well beyond the young prodigy label that sometimes still sticks to him.

Real Madrid's night kept getting better. Kylian also had a hand in the team's second goal, delivering a left-footed cross toward the far post, where Japanese forward Ayase Ueda rose to head it home almost on the goal line. It wasn't a fluke: Ueda had already scored with his head at the World Cup, in Japan's 4-0 group-stage rout of Tunisia. With that goal, Real Madrid moved ahead 2-0 over Inter.

The Other Side: Red Card and Defeat in Lille

In France, the match took a different turn. Lille was trailing 3-2 at home against Betis when, in the 56th minute, the moment that defined Ethan's night arrived. Officials reviewed an off-the-ball incident and spotted the young forward raising his right elbow toward the face of Betis defender Natan. The call was a straight red card after the VAR review.

For Ethan, just 19 years old, it was only his third Champions League match and his second start. He made his competition debut in January 2025, the last time Lille played in the tournament, though an injury kept him out of that season's meeting with his brother's Real Madrid. That year had also marked the first season for both brothers at their current clubs after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.

There's another thread connecting the two brothers off the field: both have played under an Ancelotti. Carlo Ancelotti was Kylian's coach in his first season at Real Madrid, in 2024-25, and today it's his son Davide Ancelotti who manages Ethan's Lille.