Four goals and early messages: Mourinho's Real Madrid thrash Leganes in a friendly | Goal.com
Real Madrid brushed Leganes aside 4-1 in a closed-door friendly on Tuesday evening, another step in their summer preparations for the new season.
The Whites already look sharper under Jose Mourinho in his second spell in charge, boosted by the return of several internationals from their World Cup break.
Federico Valverde wore the captain's armband, lining up alongside Eduardo Camavinga and Arda Guler in midfield as part of a 4-2-3-1 set-up, according to Spanish newspaper "Marca".
Mourinho's fingerprints were all over the performance from the first whistle. The defence stuck tight to their men, the side pressed high the moment they won possession back, and Franco Mastantuono kept threatening down the flanks.
Guler carved the opening with a decisive pass and Valverde swept it home low. Gonzalo made it two, meeting a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross with a header that he lifted cleverly over the Leganes goalkeeper.
Leganes offered little going forward, yet they pulled one back before the interval. Naim lashed a powerful strike against the post and in past Andriy Lunin.
The Whites cranked up the pressure after the break. Mastantuono pounced on a rebound from an Alexander-Arnold shot to make it three, and Pulido then turned into his own net for the fourth.
Mourinho emptied his bench in the closing minutes, handing minutes to youth and academy players as he shaped his squad before the season kicks off for real.
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