Mbappé reappeared this Sunday and Madrid’s game began to flow like it hadn’t in the rest of the preseason. The return of one of the world’s top scorers unlocked Real’s attack against the tender Schalke at the Veltins-Arena thanks to the French striker’s electricity, who scored the first goal of the match and was a constant threat to the German team’s defenders, back this season in the Bundesliga after three years in the country’s second division. The 45 minutes played by the top scorer in World Cup history were enough to blur the Gelsenkirchen side in the last and most convincing friendly of the group led by José Mourinho before debuting in the League next Saturday against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium.
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Mbappé’s first minutes this season left the impression that the striker is sharp, very fine and fast in dribbling, also accurate when he intercepted a back pass from Schallenberg and was left alone to easily beat Karius, the German goalkeeper who in the 2018 Champions League final gifted Madrid two surreal goals, one from Benzema and another from Bale, while defending Liverpool’s goal. Real settled very well after the early goal. Konaté debuted in the white shirt with Huijsen as his partner in central defense, while Bernardo Silva accompanied Valverde in the double pivot, with Güler as the playmaker and Vinicius and Brahim on the wings.
Mourinho’s team gave rhythm to the ball circulation, spurred on by Güler’s through passes and the combinations of Brahim and Bernardo Silva against an opponent who gave them many spaces and didn’t even tickle them. Only Vinicius was out of tune in the well-oiled machine, gray once again in one-on-one situations, perhaps his greatest strength, and also imprecise in the one-on-one that Mbappé invited him to. The French striker floated across the entire front of the attack. He made sharp cuts, launched wild runs, and linked up with his teammates with the confidence of someone who knows he is superior. Karius snatched a clear chance from him after a run in which he left Katic behind with astonishing ease and also saw one of his shots go just past his right post after a through ball from Brahim.
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The match was very pleasant for Madrid, who showed no discomfort against a Schalke that was unable to build or force more physical contacts to disrupt their opponent’s ball movement. Huijsen scored the second from a corner taken by Güler in which Sylla was very weak in marking the Spanish center-back.
Mourinho withdrew Mbappé, Courtois, and Konaté at halftime after their first minutes of preseason and during the second half debuted Cucurella and Diomande as Madrid players, two of this summer’s big signings. Bellingham also appeared for the first time on the field under the Portuguese coach’s orders. The rotation did not affect Real, who extended their lead with another goal from Carlos Espí. The young Spanish striker signed from Levante headed in a good cross from Carreras that came after a run from the full-back. Madrid, finally with all the internationals who were at the World Cup available, delivered their best performance of the summer on German soil before starting the League after the draw against Fiorentina and the narrow wins against Ferencvaros and Deportivo.
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