Lopetegui happy with progress as Bale and Asensio help down Juve
Following in the footsteps of Zinedine Zidane is certainly going to be a tall order, but Julen Lopetegui believes Real Madrid are in a good position going into the new season.
The European champions were 3-1 victors over Juventus in a pre-season friendly on Saturday in the United States thanks to two goals from Marco Asensio and one from Gareth Bale.
Lopetegui, who was fired as Spain manager before the World Cup after his deal with Real had been announced, has had to do without a number of his leading players in pre-season as a consequence of their commitments in Russia, but he is happy with where they are.
“It’s been positive,” Lopetegui told Madrid’s website of preparations as he looks to build on the work of Zidane, who won the Champions League three seasons in a row before resigning in June. “We’re working very hard as is normal at this time of year, with real intensity and the resulting fatigue.
“We’re hitting our goals both physically and tactically, assimilating new concepts and reinforcing elements of our collective game and tactical aspects which we are addressing every day.
“The main aim of pre-season is to get ready for the competitive games and go into those in the best possible fashion on group and individual levels. Players are coming back at different stages and we’re trying to make sure they are all preparing in the same way.”
Real, who lost 2-1 to Manchester United on Tuesday, had fallen behind on Saturday as Dani Carvajal scored an own goal.
But Bale rifled home a superb equaliser before the break and then Asensio, a half-time substitute, struck twice after the restart to put the Spaniards in charge. “We were pleased the team showed good character despite the different preparation levels,” Lopetegui added. “They’d played five games and it was our first.
“Particularly in the second half, the team showed quality and real personality. We played a good match in general terms and attempted to translate all we’ve been working on to the pitch.”
Real continue their pre-season build up with another friendly against Roma tomorrow, before they face Atletico Madrid on August 15 in the Spanish Super Cup.
They begin their bid to win the Primera Liga on August 19 at home to Getafe.
For Juventus, it was the first defeat of the pre-season and their final match of the International Champions Cup. The Serie A champions will open up their title defence at Chievo on August 18.
They were without new signing Cristiano Ronaldo, who did not make his debut against his former team.
The 33-year-old forward skipped the club’s US tour because he was recovering from playing for Portugal at the World Cup.