Mourinho's Madrid Open Preseason with High-Tempo Test

Real Madrid stepped into their first preseason friendly with a familiar edge and a very unfamiliar shape, as José Mourinho rolled out a 4-2-3-1 against Alcorcón that said plenty about his plans for the months ahead.

This was no gentle jog-around. The structure looked serious. The names even more so.

Camavinga and Cestero anchored the double pivot, asked to control the middle and set the rhythm. Ahead of them, Güler operated as the classic No. 10, floating between the lines, with Mastantuono and Valero stretching the pitch from the flanks. Gonzalo led the line, the reference point for everything Madrid tried to build.

At the back, Mourinho went bold again. Alexander-Arnold started at right-back, given license to step inside and influence the game in possession. Huijsen and Asencio formed the central defensive pairing, while Carreras handled the left side. Lunin took his place in goal, the last line behind an experimental but intriguing back four.

The opening 25 minutes, open to the press, offered a sharp snapshot of what this Madrid might become: aggressive, front-foot, willing to risk. The tempo was high, the ball moved quickly, and the young wide players drove at their markers whenever they could.

The first big flashpoint came from that ambition. Mastantuono, lively and direct, forced the issue and earned a penalty after a determined run into the box. It felt like the perfect early statement: new ideas, new energy, and a chance for Güler, stationed as the creative hub, to mark the occasion from the spot.

Instead, Alcorcón’s goalkeeper read him. Güler’s penalty was saved, the moment slipping away as quickly as it had arrived. A groan, a glance to the bench, and then straight back to work.

The miss did not derail Madrid’s control, but it did underline what this match really was: a fitness test dressed up as a contest, sharp edges still missing in the final third. The ball circulated well, the structure held, yet the breakthrough refused to come.

By the time the first half closed at 0-0, the pattern was clear. Madrid had the shape, the initiative, and flashes of quality, but not yet the cutting edge to match their dominance. The legs are heavy in July. The ideas are not.

Second Half

Now comes the familiar Mourinho pivot: the second-half carousel. Several substitutions are expected, with Castilla players set to be handed long, meaningful minutes. For them, this is more than a friendly. It is an audition in front of a coach who rarely forgets who performs when the stakes seem low.

For the starters, the job is simpler and more brutal: keep running, keep pressing, keep building the base that will carry them into the season. The scoreline is secondary. The structure, the sharpness, the hierarchy Mourinho is quietly sketching in his mind — that is where this preseason really lives.