Mourinho's Madrid return ends in frustration after 2-2 draw against Fiorentina

Real Madrid let a two-goal first-half advantage slip as Fiorentina rallied to secure a 2-2 draw in a preseason friendly on Saturday (August 1), spoiling the return of head coach Jose Mourinho for his first match back in charge of the Spanish giants.

Played at Wörthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt, the exhibition fixture saw Madrid race into an early lead through Endrick and Alexis Siria, only for Fiorentina to respond after the break with goals from Roberto Pisoli and Moise Kean.

Madrid made an encouraging start, opening the scoring in the 12th minute when Brazilian forward Endrick finished low past goalkeeper David de Gea after a lively attacking move.

The Spanish side doubled their advantage before halftime as Eduardo Camavinga set up Siria, who calmly converted to make it 2-0.

Fiorentina responded with renewed intensity in the second half. Pisoli pulled one back with a powerful strike that beat goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, before Kean completed the comeback to earn the Serie A side a share of the spoils.

Madrid came close to snatching victory late on when summer signing Carlos Espi rose highest to meet a cross, but his header failed to find the target.

Another new arrival, Denzel Dumfries, featured for 75 minutes as Mourinho handed opportunities to several first-team regulars and academy graduates in his opening match of his second spell at the club.

Madrid's starting lineup included Lunin, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Álvaro Carreras, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Güler, Dumfries and Endrick, alongside academy products João Martínez, Mario Rivas and Alexis Siria.

Speaking after making his debut, Espi expressed his delight at pulling on the Madrid shirt.

"I'm the happiest person in the world," he said. "It's been less than 72 hours since I arrived in Madrid. I've already trained and made my debut. The coach told me to be myself and attack the penalty area."

Despite surrendering their lead, the match offered Mourinho an early opportunity to assess his reshaped squad ahead of the new season.