Goal fest in the final preseason friendly

Real Madrid concluded the preseason with three wins and one draw. Mourinho's team secured a convincing victory over Schalke 04 in the fourth and final preparatory match, held at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen. Mbappé and Huijsen set the tone for the win in the first half by putting the score at 0-2. After the break, Carlos Espí sealed the victory with the third goal. Positive signs for the madridistas ahead of the 2026/27 season.

Our team started strong and quickly took the lead. In the sixth minute, Mbappé, in his first preseason match, capitalized on a poor back pass from Schallenberg to beat Karius in a one-on-one. Three minutes later, Auchiche responded with a free kick that narrowly missed the top corner. Mbappé was a constant threat to the opposing defense and had two chances to double his tally. First, he attempted a right-footed shot from outside the area that went just wide (11’), and a minute later, the goalkeeper deflected his angled shot in another one-on-one.

Madrid dominates and Huijsen nets the second
The madridista persistence paid off again in the 20th minute when Huijsen scored with a superb header from a pinpoint corner delivered by Arda Güler, making it 0-2. The defender almost scored a third goal in the 33rd minute, but this time his header was saved by Karius. Our team was relentless, and Vini Jr. also had an opportunity with a shot in the area following a pass from Mbappé, which Timo Becker cleared off the goal line (35’).

In the second half, Mourinho brought on Lunin, Rüdiger, Camavinga, and C. Espí. The first chance came for Schalke 04 through Becker, but his left-footed shot was deflected by the Ukrainian goalkeeper (47’). Madrid regained the initiative, and the third goal came ten minutes later. Carreras delivered a fine cross from the left flank, which Carlos Espí converted with a close-range header. At the hour mark, the Portuguese coach handed debuts to Cucurella and Diomande, while also introducing Bellingham and Dumfries.

The fourth goal could have come
Schalke 04 increased the tempo of their play but failed to score thanks to excellent interventions from Lunin and the madridista defense. Fifteen minutes from the end, Espí came close to scoring again after receiving a low pass from Vini Jr. in the area, but his slightly off-balance shot ended in Karius's hands. In the final minutes, goalkeeper Illia also made his first-team debut. Ultimately, our team secured the victory and finished the preseason undefeated. Madrid will kick off La Liga next Saturday against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium (9:30 pm CEST; Orange TV and Dazn).