Real Madrid beat newly promoted Deportivo La Coruña 1-0 in their penultimate friendly of the season, thanks to a goal from Brahim Diaz in the first half. Despite the win, they never really looked like a team that was clicking on every level.
It actually looked like the team was solely relying on these friendlies to build up the fitness of these players, which is the main reason anyway. Still, there were some great performances - along with some mediocre ones - for Los Blancos on Wednesday night.
Jose Mourinho knew he had to use the entire squad and give minutes and chances to every single player, and he did so with what was available to him, before his final friendly against Schalke on Saturday.
Here are two stars and two flops from the win.
Star: DM Bernardo Silva
Bernardo Silva looked like, at least in this game, the missing piece for this team. It is a very limited sample size, which is why no one should make any premature conclusions, but he looked fantastic playing alongside Eduardo Camavinga - who was also quite good - in midfield. He kept moving; he was not afraid of asking for the ball and keeping it for long stretches, and was a type of midfielder that has been missing from the team since Toni Kroos retired, and then, more recently, since Luka Modric left the club. Silva's defensive work rate was also on display on Wednesday night. Great performance, and it looks like Silva will be an important player this season, especially with the non-arrival of Rodri.
Flop: LW Vinicius Junior
As I said, these flops and stars should be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, Vinicius Junior was miles off the pace on Wednesday. He did not look that explosive. He did not move well enough and had little impact on the game. But like with any player, he is still building his fitness. It was his first start in over a month, and the point of it was to be able to get as many minutes into the door as possible so that the player does not look like this when the actual season starts.
Star: CB Dean Huijsen
A great performance, finally, from Dean Huijsen. It seemed like he is refreshed and has removed himself from the shackles of last season, and gave in a clean, defensive shift for the team. There were a few wayward passes - as always - from Huijsen, but largely speaking, it was a great performance from the Spaniard, who wore Sergio Ramos' famous kit number for the very first time in his Real Madrid career. Hopefully a sign of things to come, but again, it's just a friendly.
Flop: CB Antonio Rudiger
Whatever Dean Huijsen did right, Antonio Rudiger did wrong. The player did not look comfortable at all. He was more reactive than proactive, and looked sluggish and second to every single duel until he had to go off. Mario Rivas, when he entered the pitch, looked much more comfortable than the German central defender, and hopefully, Rudiger is just using the pre-season break to get the cobwebs out.
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