Real Madrid’s 2025/26 preparations began in earnest on Friday as they played their first preseason friendly fixture.
Local rivals Leganes made the short trip to Madrid’s training centre for a match in which stars including Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior featured.
Xabi Alonso is having to fast-track his efforts to get his team ready for the new season, with two friendly games hastily arranged in between the end of the FIFA Club World Cup and the start of La Liga.
The Leganes match largely passed by everyone’s notice due to a lack of television coverage, although Alonso may well have preferred a less-scrutinised opportunity to work with the players. The new coach had been thrust into the spotlight at the Club World Cup after taking over from Carlo Ancelotti less than three weeks before their first game at that tournament in the United States.
Here is what happened in the Leganes match, and when Madrid will next be in action.
What happened in Real Madrid vs. Leganes today? Score, result from preseason game
Real Madrid beat Leganes 4-1 in a preseason game on August 8, 2025.
The fixture took place at Los Blancos’ Valdebebas training centre and was somewhat shrouded in mystery given that not even the club’s in-house TV channel set up cameras to film the action, according to AS.
Madrid actually fell 1-0 behind through Sule, the younger brother of former Barcelona forward Munir El Haddadi. Alonso’s team eventually eased to victory thanks to goals from Eder Militao, Brahim Diaz, Dean Huijsen, and youth-team player Thiago Pitarch.
New signing Alvaro Carreras played at left-back, while Mbappe and Vinicius were involved. There was a start at right-back for Dani Carvajal, who has spent the best part of a full year out of action with a serious knee injury.
✅ Entrenamiento de preparación completado junto al @realmadrid.
? ¡Suerte para esta temporada!#PreseasonLALIGA pic.twitter.com/BWWjQzfHCf
— C.D. Leganés (@CDLeganes) August 8, 2025
Real Madrid next match
Madrid’s preseason preparations have been a little disjointed, much like the other teams who reached the latter stages of the FIFA Club World Cup. That’s why they are having to cram in some warm-up games before the new season gets underway.
Their next match is on Tuesday against Austrian side WSG Tirol. The game will be played at 7 p.m. CET (1 p.m. ET) at the Tivoli Stadium in Innsbruck.
After that, Alonso and his players will have a week to prepare for their first La Liga match of 2025/26 against Osasuna.
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When does La Liga season 2025/26 start?
The 2025/26 La Liga season begins on Friday, August 15. The opening game sees Girona host Rayo Vallecano, before Villarreal are in action later on against promoted side Real Oviedo.
Real Madrid’s first game is at home to Osasuna on Tuesday, August 19 at 8 p.m. CET (2 p.m. ET).
