Real Madrid beat WSG Tirol 4-0 in their one and only publicly shown friendly on Tuesday, with goals coming from Kylian Mbappe, Eder Militao and Rodrygo.
There were a lot of patterns that looked good, and even though it was just a friendly, here are three quick observations from the pretty fun win over the Austrian side.
A new-look build-up, with two key components
Real Madrid’s build-up has a new and fresh look. Gone are the days when the players used to play on the fly, just seeing how it is when the match starts. Real Madrid look good now. They pass with intent. They move with intent. It is fun to watch.
It is also not perfect, not yet. Real Madrid still have a tendency to show a few minor problems here and there. However, for the most part, it has been good fun. Dean Huijsen and Arda Guler play huge roles in Xabi Alonso’s new system. Huijsen had 117 passes, and Guler — unleashed a bit further up the field due to Jude Bellingham’s absence — had a big part in how the game opened up in the final third.
Real Madrid, and Alonso, looked towards him whenever they needed the ball to move forward, and Guler obliged.
These two have also helped with press resistence and controlling the tempo, and it is only going to get better from now. They have played together for what, five games? With time, they will be even more accustomed to their roles, even more than they already are.
Real Madrid also looked good going forward. A lot of one-touch exchanges among the attackers, a lot of off-ball movement from Mbappe, who also dropped deep many times to help with the build-up. These are small signs, but good ones.
A note on Huijsen, who has probably been the most impressive Real Madrid player since his arrival: It is one thing to have a good first few games, but this is Real Madrid. It is not uncommon for players to take their time before showing their true selves — even Mbappe did that last season. Huijsen has followed the Jude Bellingham route, as he looks like he has been wearing the famous white for over a decade.
To do that at his age, Huijsen is something special, and it is going to be interesting to see how much he can improve from here. This is just the start.
Eder Militao, hopeful return
Militao has a pretty good track record of returning from ACL injuries in good shape. In really good shape, I should say. It was not against the best of teams, but Militao looked pretty good in the match against WSG Tirol, making it two goals from two friendlies for the central defender.
He looked good and stepped up quite nicely in defense. Militao, as always, knew when to stay back and when to push up to put pressure on the other team’s attackers, and he looked as solid as he used to before getting injured — again.
If Militao is able to muster up an injury free season — that is a pretty big if now — the floor of this team improves drastically. Real Madrid would then have four really good centre-backs fighting for spots, and their weakest position last season could become one of their stronger ones. He also slots in perfectly on the right. He can cover well for an advanced Trent Alexander-Arnold, and his fit alongside Huijsen seems pretty seamless.
That is one big if, though, probably the biggest out of any ifs I have seen in recent times.
Thiago Pitarch, Roberto Martin and Daniel Yanez played for the first team on Tuesday. It was fun to see minutes being distributed to the players who are actually likely to get them.
Yanez looked very composed on the right. He was not as involved, but he looked good, passed the ball well. He is quick, which helps a lot. It also helps loads to have a left-footed natural right-winger playing for the team. It is good for balance, which Yanez provided plenty of.
Martin was solid. He passed the ball around well enough while also keeping shape of the team. He looked decent, similar to what he has shown at Castilla so far this season.
Pitarch, I have high hopes for. He has easily looked like one of the most impressive players in the friendlies for Castilla, and when he played 10 minutes for the first team on Tuesday, it was no different.
Pitarch did not do anything outlandish. He was safe with his movement and passing, but he looked good doing it. A shoulder drop to relieve pressure, a quick pass through the press, a ‘safe’ pass backwards to help the team get back into shape, these are little things that go unnoticed, and Pitarch is doing a good job in that regard. It is good to have a profile like him playing some minutes for the first team.
Manuel Angel is also a brilliant option to have, and if it wasn’t for his consistent injury issues, it would probably have been Angel coming on instead of Pitarch. Pitarch, however, is the younger player, and has shown promise at a time when Real Madrid needed it.
If he is able to further impress Alvaro Arbeloa and Alonso, there is a lot he can do over the course of this season, both for Castilla and the first team. It is still early doors, and it was a cameo in a friendly, but the talent is there. Alonso reportedly wanted the club to sign a midfielder, and if Pitarch can impress just about enough, the need for that signing would slowly seep down the drain.
