- Mbappe with a brace and an assist
- Militao made scoring return
- Madrid triumph 4-0 in final friendly
Los Blancos ended their pre-season preparations with a thumping win at Austrian side WSG Tirol. Xabi Alonso fielded a strong starting lineup as Vinicius Junior featured in the Madrid attack alongside Kylian Mbappe and Brahim Diaz. Rodrygo, however, was left on the bench, amid strong speculation that the Brazilian could exit the Santiago Bernabeu in this transfer window.
Eder Militao, starting for the first time since recovering from his second ACL injury, opened the scoring for his team with a looping header from Diaz’s cross and Mbappe soon doubled the team’s lead with a great finish. The France captain received a through ball with his right foot from Arda Guler and took a swift turn before putting the ball into the net with a thunderous left-footed strike.
Madrid resumed action after the break with similar intensity with which they ended the first half. Mbappe completed his brace and extended his team’s lead to three goals just before the hour mark as he followed Aurelien Tchouameni’s through ball inside the Tirol box, before dribbling past the opposition goalkeeper and finding the back of the net.
Following their third goal, Alonso made a host of changes as Rodrygo finally entered the pitch, replacing his compatriot Vinicius. Antonio Rudiger was also introduced in place of goal scorer Militao, while veteran full-back Dani Carvajal came on for new signing Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Mbappe ended a remarkable night with an assist for Rodrygo as he showed off impeccable trickery with his foot before forwarding a through ball from which the Brazilian comfortably slotted home.
Mbappe’s fiery form in the final friendly of pre-season will reassure Madrid fans before the start of the new campaign. The Frenchman was undoubtedly the star of the game as his brace helped the Spaniards rout their opponents.
New signing Alvaro Carreras did exceptionally well in his first-ever game for Madrid. The full-back remained on the pitch for just over an hour, where he made 72 touches, won most of his duels and completed two tackles and as many interceptions. Carreras, along with other arrivals like Dean Huijsen and Alexander-Arnold, played a crucial role in the club keeping a clean sheet.
A lot of eyes will be on Arda Guler this season as the youngster could feature regularly in the starting lineup under Alonso. The Turkish sensation had a stellar outing on Tuesday as he capped it off with a brilliant assist for Mbappe’s first goal.
Alonso’s side will kick off their 2025-26 La Liga campaign on August 19 as they take on Osasuna at home.
