Real Madrid's win over Deportivo La Coruña on Wednesday night was not a brilliant sight. There were some decent moments here and there, but largely speaking, Los Blancos did not look all that interesting to watch.
It is a pre-season, so they are quite easily forgiven - but there were still some exciting openings by the end of the match that are genuinely good to think about for the future.
Here are three burning questions after Real Madrid's penultimate friendly of the season.
1. Where will Fede Valverde actually play?
The answer might be obvious to some, but it might not be to others.
No one denies the fact that Valverde is one of the most important midfielders that Real Madrid have had in the last few years. His physical presence as well as his defensive work rate are both really impressive, and it begs the question: where exactly will he play?
Will he play as a second midfielder in the double pivot alongside Bernardo Silva? It is clear in these games that Silva is absolutely a necessary option in midfield. Having him alongside anyone would help the team, but who it will be is a different question. If that is the case, then would Real Madrid start their games without an out-and-out defensive midfielder like Aurelien Tchouameni?
If it will be with Tchouameni, and Silva is the one benched, it makes little sense. Silva provides a lot that neither of the existing two starters gives to the team. Valverde and Tchouameni's double pivot in general has not shown any bits of success in the last two years - it is a very lacklustre partnership which does not provide the technical ability or the long-range passing that at least one of the two deep midfielders need.
Will it be on the wing? What happens with Yan Diomande or Endrick if that is the case? It probably will be next to Silva, but it will be interesting to see whether Real Madrid go for those two, or for a pure six in Tchouameni alongside their new Portuguese teammate. You cannot lose Fede in the lineup because of what he brings defensively, but you also cannot lose a dominant six's off-ball movement.
2. What will be Denzel Dumfries' role at Real Madrid?
Denzel Dumfries has started the last three matches at right-back, before Trent Alexander-Arnold comes into that position in the second half. It is clear that Trent is the better player, but it also seems that Mourinho, at least in the pre-season, is impressed with Dumfries.
He probably is just trying to start him as much as possible to get him used to the team and to get him up to speed with the rest. Trent has looked good in most games, and Dumfries hasn't impressed anyone yet, which is why people are interested in seeing how much Dumfries plays.
It will be a very shocking move if Trent is somehow benched by Dumfries despite having the tools in his locker that no one else on the team has. It probably won't happen. Dumfries was signed to be a back-up for Trent, but it is interesting to see how Dumfries has been playing from the start in each of the last three games. Probably is solely to get him back to peak fitness, but it's interesting to follow and we will have to wait for the actual answer.
3. Can Carlos Espi replace Endrick as the second-choice striker?
Carlos Espi replaced the Brazilian striker in the second half, and although he did not score or have the best game, it led me to question whether the Spanish striker can actually replace Endrick. There is one certain part of his skillset that Endrick does not have, which is aerial presence and his heading ability.
If he starts doing enough damage coming into the game late and scoring important goals for the team, we might actually start seeing more of him. Espi has shown his talent already - his hold-up play, box presence and movement are already really good, and if he is able to score some important goals, this may be on the cards.
Endrick also causes chaos by being on the pitch, and his knack for trying new things will always hold an important place, too, but he will need to turn that into goals if he wants to keep his place as a second-choice attacker.
If Real Madrid are not going to replace Kylian Mbappe or Vinicius Jr in the latter stages of the game, and there is only one player who can be brought on in the last minutes, would Mourinho choose Endrick over Espi, or would he see the aerial presence as something that's more important?
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