José Mourinho’s Real Madrid surrendered a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 with Fiorentina in a pre-season friendly at the Worthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt on Saturday. The Spanish side looked comfortable after establishing an early lead through Endrick and Alexis Ciria, but second-half strikes from Roberto Piccoli and substitute Moise Kean ensured the Italian club earned a share of the spoils.
Madrid lose control after strong start
The Brazilian forward Endrick opened the scoring after 12 minutes, collecting a cut-back from Marc Carreras and evading Luca Ranieri before beating David De Gea. The former Manchester United goalkeeper has recently joined Fiorentina and faced his old club’s European rivals here. Madrid doubled their advantage on 24 minutes when Eduardo Camavinga laid the ball off for Ciria to finish.
Fiorentina, under new manager Fabio Grosso, rallied before the interval. Piccoli reduced the deficit in the 41st minute, running onto a pass from Alex Jimenez and firing past Andriy Lunin from an angle. The equaliser arrived shortly after the hour mark when Kean, who had entered the match moments earlier, headed in a delivery from Niccolò Fagioli on 58 minutes. The former Juventus striker nearly won the contest late on, but Lunin pushed his shot to safety.
Fresh faces feature
The fixture offered several players the chance to impress in new surroundings. Denzel Dumfries, who moved to the Bernabéu from Internazionale this summer, made his full debut for Los Blancos at right-back. Meanwhile, Victor Valdepenas appeared for Fiorentina having finalised his move earlier in the day, facing the club where he previously played. Trent Alexander-Arnold also featured for Madrid, while Arda Güler forced a smart save from De Gea with a set-piece.
Grosso deployed his side in a 4-3-1-2 formation featuring four new signings, a necessary rebuild after the club narrowly escaped relegation last term. His team showed greater urgency after the break, with Albert Gudmundsson and Rolando Mandragora driving forward before Kean’s intervention.
Pre-season priorities
For Mourinho, the result matters less than the conditioning gained ahead of the competitive campaign. Camavinga showed energy in midfield and Dumfries gained valuable minutes, but the defensive structure will require attention after Madrid conceded too much space in the second period. Both teams are expected to contest further friendlies before their respective league seasons commence.