Real Madrid and AC Milan faced each other tonight in Chicago as part of the Soccer Champions Tour taking place in the United States.
The weather threatened the game a few hours before kick-off but everything went off without a hitch in Chicago. Real Madrid played their first pre-season match with a team without most of their key players who are still on vacation due to the Euro and the Copa America.
In this match, the two teams neutralized each other in the first half (0-0) before the Italians took the upper hand after the break, taking advantage of a defensive error by the Merengues (0-1).
Lessons from the match
At kick-off, Carlo Ancelotti presented his team in a 4-3-3 formation with Endrick up front supported by Arda Güler and Brahim Diaz on the wings. The Italian hinted in a press conference that this system could be used more this season. This was the case tonight but the usual starters were not present. To be continued.
The team at kick-off – Photo by Icon Sport
On a collective level, the game obviously took place at a slow pace, but it should be noted that Thibaut Courtois distinguished himself in the first quarter of an hour with two great saves to keep the score at 0-0. On the other hand, Jesus Vallejo was in trouble at the start of the match.
Fran Garcia showed that he was already physically in great shape, as did Antonio Rüdiger who recently returned, while Lucas Vazquez was true to himself. Luka Modric was interesting and Dani Ceballos even more so in his time. Mario Martin grew in strength as the match progressed.
Up front, it was Arda Güler who was seen as the most likely to make the difference, even though it was Brahim Diaz who had the best chance. Endrick played a somewhat messy game as expected, but it should be noted that his physical power is already being felt and that he was the author of a beautiful sequence of moves, even though he was offside and the goalkeeper had intervened.
Ancelotti has rotated
Unsurprisingly, many changes were made at half-time and then during the second half. Lunin, Acensio, Latasa, Joan Martinez, Nico Paz and Palacios came on, although the latter was only able to stay on the pitch for 5 minutes before being replaced (as a precaution) following contact.
Real’s young attackers unfortunately didn’t have much to sink their teeth into because it was mainly the defensive sector that was put to the test. Young Joan Martinez impressed with the serenity he exudes at his age (16 years old) and his great ability to restart properly.
