Real Madrid continued their encouraging pre-season under Jose Mourinho with a 4-1 win over Leganes in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
Federico Valverde opened the scoring before Gonzalo Garcia doubled Madrid’s advantage, with Franco Mastantuono and an own goal from Ruben Pulido after the break putting the result beyond doubt.
Leganes briefly threatened a comeback when Naim Garcia produced a fine individual goal before half-time, but Madrid’s quality ultimately proved too much.
Valverde broke the deadlock after 21 minutes, exchanging passes with Arda Guler before calmly slotting beyond Raul Fernandez.
Madrid doubled their lead soon after when Trent Alexander-Arnold picked out Gonzalo Garcia with an excellent long pass, allowing the forward to lift the ball over the advancing goalkeeper.
Leganes responded before the break. Naim Garcia collected possession on the left, skipped past Alexander-Arnold and curled an excellent finish into the far corner, giving Andriy Lunin no chance.
Any hopes of a fightback were extinguished shortly before the hour mark as Madrid struck twice in quick succession.
Alexander-Arnold was again heavily involved, with Mastantuono reacting quickest after the England international’s effort was saved, before Pulido turned a dangerous cross into his own net just two minutes later.
Mourinho then handed valuable minutes to several academy players after making wholesale substitutions in the 70th minute, with Madrid comfortably seeing out the closing stages to secure another pre-season win.
Alexander-Arnold shines in attack
Alexander-Arnold delivered another reminder of the attacking quality he can offer from right-back. His pinpoint long pass created Gonzalo Garcia’s goal, while his shot led directly to Mastantuono’s close-range finish after the restart.
However, there was also a familiar defensive concern for Mourinho to address. Alexander-Arnold was beaten too easily by Naim Garcia in the build-up to Leganes’ only goal, with the winger cutting inside before curling beyond Lunin.
With new signing Denzel Dumfries providing fresh competition for the right-back position, Alexander-Arnold will know consistent performances at both ends of the pitch will be required to cement his place in Mourinho’s plans ahead of the new campaign.
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