Güler provides the light and Mbappé the goals in Madrid's only easy friendly before the League.

There are signings who have arrived and there are signings who were already there. The former formed a defense that will be Madrid's defense, at least until Carvajal grits his teeth. Trent , Huijsen , and Carreras were joined by one of the latter, Militao , a true and goal-scoring center back. A long-awaited center back, although there are waits and waits, and the second signing, who was already at Madrid, raises expectations that are like butterflies in the stomach. It's Arda Güler , whose strange gaze sees spaces that others don't, and whose left leg is a precision striker. Innsbruck's posts denied him a goal in an easy friendly against Tirol, but one that Madrid took seriously (0-4), because they have someone very serious on the bench. Mbappé , with his number 10 on his back, scored two of the four goals, but this indecipherable Turk has the qualities of a 10 that Madrid needs.

That seriousness begins with pressure, whether on the opponent's ball movement or the immediate reaction to losing possession. It was already evident at the Club World Cup, but in its infancy. Against Tirol, it was more coordinated. If it isn't like that, a team becomes an out-of-tune accordion. This was what happened to Madrid under Ancelotti , who preferred to retreat and counterattack, a script that gave Madrid one of the best periods in its history, and it's best not to forget it. When he tried to press without having it worked out, internalized, the losses usually backfired. To prevent that from happening, Xabi Alonso needs everyone involved in the pressure, and that's what Vinicius and Mbappé point out.

The starting defense

The defensive line that started the match, along with the presence of Vini and Mbappé up front, is the closest to the starting lineup that seems defined, apart from Courtois . The injuries to Bellingham , Valverde and Camavinga mean that the midfield against Tirol, with Ceballos alongside Tchouaméni and Güler, plus Brahim on the right, was something different from what we will see with the return, surely, of the Uruguayan and, later, the Englishman. Camavinga, after his poor last season, is an unknown. The key decision for Xabi Alonso is whether he will keep Güler and if he can become a true director of the game. Others who arrived as attacking midfielders, such as Kroos or Modric , have already done so. Big words.

With that team, Madrid started intensely against a much inferior opponent. Tirol leads the Austrian Bundesliga after two matchdays, but they are leaders in a different segment of football. They were subdued more easily than Madrid will encounter in La Liga. To begin with, against Osasuna next week, in the match that sparked the first controversy for the Whites due to the League's refusal to grant the postponement, despite the team's limited rest. With possession levels around 80%, the friendly began as a monologue, in which Madrid dominated every opportunity. This included the set pieces, which allowed Militao to score. He wasn't challenged defensively, but the goal, along with the one he scored against Leganés, indicates he's back, a blessed return for Madrid after a nightmare of injuries.

Mbappé scored two goals in a Madrid that rotated and measured, and he finished them with precision and confidence. In the first, he spun around after a brilliant pass from Güler, of course, and in the second, he won the space to coolly finish the one-on-one.

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That goal sealed the game, or part of it, after which Xabi Alonso changed the whole team to bring on, first, Lunin , Carvajal , Rodrygo - who scored the fourth goal at a time of doubt about his future -, Fran García , Gonzalo and Rüdiger . Then, the youth players Yáñez , Thiago and Roberto Martín , sending a message down low: there will be opportunities. The main players came off initially, among them Carreras, who took over on the left with personality. Güler didn't do so until the last round of changes. He needs all the minutes he can get to feel like one more among the main players.