Real Madrid staged a second-half comeback as they came from two goals down to beat AC Milan 3-2 in their first US friendly of the summer.
Pasadena's Rose Bowl enjoyed a real treat from these two teams as Milan raced into a first-half lead. Fikayo Tomori headed the Rossoneri ahead after 25 minutes and 18-year-old Luka Romero doubled their advantage shortly before the interval with a glorious strike from range.
Real Madrid, lining up in a new 4-4-2 diamond formation with Toni Kroos at the base, Jude Bellingham at the top and Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde either side, had to step things up in the second half and clearly received the necessary dressing down from Carlo Ancelotti.
Eight substitutions followed, with Valverde, Bellingham and Andriy Lunin the only survivors as Rodrygo Goes and Vinicius Junior joined the action, and the results were clear to see as Los Blancos began battling towards a comeback.
There was a huge amount of good fortune about the first as Valverde's tame strike from range was inexplicably allowed to squirm between the legs of Milan stopper Marco Sportiello in the 57th minute, and the Uruguay midfielder was celebrating again just two minutes later.
Another fizzer from outside the box from Valverde was struck with plenty of venom this time and Sportiello was powerless to stop the ball from nestling into his bottom corner to tie things up for the final 30 minutes.
Bellingham's unofficial debut ended there, while Milan toughened up with the introduction of starting goalkeeper Mike Maignan, but Real Madrid were not to be denied a dramatic comeback victory.
With just six minutes to go, a long ball over the top sent Vinicius through on goal and the Brazilian managed to squeeze his effort under Maignan and cap off an eventful evening for Los Blancos.
Next up on the schedule for Real Madrid is a meeting with Manchester United on July 27, with Barcelona and Juventus to come later this summer.
Bellingham impresses on Real Madrid debut
"It is rare to find player with this kind of quality," Ancelotti said of Bellingham's first run out in Real Madrid colours. "He is only 20, so he can improve. We are lucky to have him in our squad.
"He was fantastic. He has a lot of rhythm, moves well and has quality finding open spaces."
Indeed, Bellingham's performance was one of the real high points for Real, He roamed forward at will, collecting passes from Kroos in the pivot role before driving into space, and his attacking intent was epitomised by a trademark surging run along the touchline that took at least two Milan defenders out of the game.
Bellingham also seemed to have a great connection with his teammates - a positive reflection of the work put in during early pre-season training.
Ancelotti experiments with formation
Ancelotti had previously admitted that Real would need to shake things up in order to fit all of their midfield stars into the lineup - and that's exactly what the Italian did here.
A narrow 4-4-2 diamond formation, with Kroos and Bellingham at the base and top, allowed for seamless transitions on the counter, though it took a little while for things to get going as Milan went into the break 2-0 up.
The introduction of Vinicius Junior turned the game, as the Brazilian so often does, and offered a real insight into the firepower Real now have at their disposal. Barcelona beware, Los Blancos could be a real force to be reckoned with this season, particularly if they add another forward to their ranks (Kylian Mbappe or perhaps Harry Kane) before the summer window closes.
Real Madrid 3-2 AC Milan pre-season lineups
Real Madrid XI: Andriy Lunin; Lucas Vazquez (Dani Carvajal 46), Eder Militao (Antonio Rudiger (46), Nacho Fernandez (David Alaba 46), Ferland Mendy (Fran Garcia 46), Toni Kroos (Aurelien Tchouameni 46), Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga (Luka Modric 46), Jude Bellingham (Nicolas Paz 64), Brahim Diaz (Rodrygo 46), Joselu (Vinicius Junior 46)
Subs not used: Thibaut Courtois, Fran Gonzalez, Diego Piniero, Alvaro Odriozola, Arda Guler
AC Milan XI: Marco Sportiello (Mike Maignan 70), Davide Calabria (Theo Hernandez 70), Jan-Carlo Simic (Simon Kjaer 70), Fikayo Tomori (Malick Thiaw 70), Alessandro Florenzi (Alexis Saelemakers 70); Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Yacine Adli 70), Rade Krunic (Tijjani Reijnders 70), Tommaso Pobega (Charles De Ketelaere 70); Junior Messias (Luka Romero 32), Lorenzo Columbo (Olivier Giroud 70), Christian Pulisic (Rafael Leao 70)
Subs not used: Chaka Traore, Kevin Zeroli, Davide Bartesaghi, Antonio Mirante
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This article was originally published on 90min as Real Madrid 3-2 AC Milan: Pictures & talking points from pre-season friendly in California.
