Deportivo 0-1 Real Madrid: Five key takeaways from pre-season friendly

Jose Mourinho’s men secured their second consecutive win!

At the Estadio Abanca-Riazor, hosts Deportivo La Coruña welcomed the European giants Real Madrid for a club friendly contest ahead of the new season. Both sides got to learn what they are missing as the 2026-27 campaign is just about to start.

It was surely not a result Antonio Hidalgo’s men were looking for. They have now experienced their first loss of their current campaign. Deportivo La Coruña did not back down till the final moments and put up a tough fight for their rivals. Los Blanquiazules came up with a mix of young and experienced players. Their performance in defence was quite good and only allowed Los Blancos to score a single goal.

Real Madrid might have secured a 1-0 victory here. But was it their best performance? No, it wasn’t. They still need to figure a lot of things out. They lacked fluidity in the final third, which did affect their momentum big time. The Jose Mourinho-led side surely will be taking the notes home and come up with an improved performance in the next pre-season game.

Important things we learned from this match:

1. Real Madrid’s firm defence

Los Blancos have secured a clean sheet here. This is a big positive for them out of this fixture. Deportivo La Coruña came up with 10 shots on goal, but none of them went through. All thanks to Andrey Lunin, who was guarding the goal. Dean Huijsen did a wonderful job of stopping shots alongside Antonio Rudiger.

Also Read: Arsenal 1-1 Como: Five key takeaways from pre-season friendly

2. Brahim Diaz makes the difference

Brahim Diaz was the sole goal scorer in a 1-0 win for Real Madrid against Los Blanquiazules. He capitalised on a loose ball in the opponent’s defence and fired it at the back of the net in the final moments of the first half. He started on the right flank and might soon be replaced by the new signing Yan Diomande once the new season starts.

3. New signings coming into play

Even though Denzel Dumfries got some minutes during the last pre-season game. He started once again and this time Bernardo Silva was also included in the playing XI. The Portuguese midfielder gained some valuable minutes on the field in the defensive midfield position alongside Eduardo Camavinga. Silva put in a decent show and so did Dumfries.

4. Real Madrid’s attack lacked cutting edge

Despite the names like Vinicius Junior, Endrick, Arda Guler and Brahim Diaz pushing to score a goal, Real Madrid was only able to find the net against the newly promoted Deportivo La Coruña. In the final third, Los Blancos failed to come up with multiple opportunities and were not quite able to put pressure on their opponents.

5. Deportivo show encouraging signs ahead of LaLiga return

Los Blanquiazules finished as the runners-up in the Segunda Division last season. This earned them a promotion to the Spanish top flight, LaLiga. Antonio Hidalgo’s men kept their shape well throughout the fixture and only allowed Real Madrid to score one goal. The 21-year-old Belgian centre-back, Lucas Noubi, was the standout performer for Deportivo after his top performance in the backline.

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