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Richard Buxton¡24 July 2023
đ Bellingham debuts, Valverde shines as Madrid down Milan in friendly
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Richard Buxton¡24 July 2023
Real Madrid came from behind to squeeze past Milan in the two clubâs opening game of their USA preseason tours.
Scorers: Tomori 25â˛, Romero 42Ⲡ; Valverde 57â˛, 59â˛, Vini Jr. 85â˛
A packed house in Pasadena was treated to an intense opening 45 minutes, as both teams pushed to find the opening goal.
It was Milan who would strike first however, when Fikayo Tomori leapt above the Madrid defense to nod home a Christian Pulisic corner to score the opener just before the half-hour mark.
It quickly went from good to great for Milan, as 18-year-old Luka Romero curled home the Rossoneriâs second of the night from the edge of the box just minutes after replacing Junior Messias.
While they looked relatively comfortable in the first-half, Milan collapsed after the break.
A seemingly pedestrian Fede Valverde effort from outside of the box somehow found its way past Marco Sportiello in the Milan net, while two minutes later a bad giveaway at the back allowed Valverde to reclaim parity from close-range.
The two sides traded chances after Milanâs stretch of calamity, but it was Real Madrid who snatched the win late on through Vini Jr., who snuck in behind the Milan defense to slot home in the dying minutes.