Defending Spanish league and UEFA Champions League champions Real Madrid concluded their preparatory tour in the United States on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over English side Chelsea, while fellow Spanish team Barcelona lost to Italian club Milan 3-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
A crowd of 62,617 attended the match at the home of the Carolina Panthers American football team in Charlotte, North Carolina, to see Brazilian Vinicius Junior start for the first time in Real Madrid’s preparatory matches, just 12 days before the La Liga season begins and a meeting with Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.
Midfielder Dani Ceballos gave the capital side the lead in the 19th minute with a right-footed shot that found the bottom left corner of the net. Moroccan international Ibrahim Diaz doubled the advantage in the 27th minute with a left-footed shot from a difficult angle on the left inside the penalty area. Chelsea's Noni Madueke pulled one back with a close-range header from the right in the 39th minute, but Chelsea could not equalize.
In another friendly match, Milan and Barcelona ended in a 2-2 draw in Baltimore, with the Italian team sealing a 4-3 victory on penalties. Serbian forward Luka Jovic started the scoring in the 10th minute, assisted by American Christian Pulisic, who scored the second goal for his team with a shot from a difficult angle on the left that found the top right corner of the net in the 15th minute. Polish striker Robert Lewandowski responded with a brace in the 22nd and 58th minutes.
