In their first public friendly under José Mourinho, the Royals drew 2-2 (2-0) against Serie A club AC Fiorentina. Real Madrid shone especially in the first half with plenty of movement and enthusiasm.
With a 2-2 draw against AC Florence on Saturday, José Mourinho kicked off his second tenure as coach of Real Madrid. The match at Wörthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt was the Madrid side’s first public preseason game—they had already defeated CD Leganés 4-1 on Tuesday. However, in front of nearly 30,000 spectators who filled the stadium to near capacity, Real did not field its strongest lineup.
With several players still in the knockout stages of the World Cup, Mourinho did not have a number of key players available in Klagenfurt. Among those missing were Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Thibaut Courtois, and Vinicius Junior. World Cup champion and new signing Marc Cucurella was also still on vacation.
Florence Substitutes Make an Immediate Impact
The Spaniards still got off to the better start. Endrick put Real ahead in the 12th minute off an assist from Alvaro Carreras, before 18-year-old Alexis Ciria extended the lead to 2–0 off an assist from Eduardo Camavinga (24th minute). However, Roberto Piccoli pulled one back for Fiorentina before halftime. Real gradually lost their dominance after the break, which the Italians ultimately capitalized on when Moise Kean scored to make it 2–2 in the 58th minute. Both assist provider Nicolo Fagioli and goal scorer Kean had come on as substitutes just moments earlier (57th minute).
Federico Valverde led the Royals onto the field as captain. Before kickoff, both teams observed a minute of silence in memory of former AC Milan defender Franco Baresi, who had passed away early Friday morning.