Real Madrid beat Ferencvaros 2-1 in a friendly in Budapest, but the match was marked by a penalty incident that could have turned the result into a setback for Jose Mourinho’s side.
The Spanish club secured victory through goals from academy graduates Mario Rivas and Carlos Espe. However, Ferencvaros created enough opportunities to prevent Real Madrid from taking the win, particularly after making changes at half-time and improving their performance.
The home side could also have been awarded a penalty in the first half when the ball appeared to strike Denzel Dumfries’ outstretched arm inside the Real Madrid penalty area. The referee did not give the decision and there was no VAR available to review the incident.
Ferencvaros started to look more dangerous after the interval, when their substitutions gave the team fresh energy. They had already threatened Andriy Lunin’s goal before the break, though, and their pressure exposed weaknesses in several Real Madrid performances.
The publication Euro-Football.Ru gave subjective ratings to the Real Madrid players it felt had produced the least convincing displays.
Ferencvaros 1-2 Real Madrid (0-1)
Ratings are out of 10, with each player starting from a mark of 6.0.
Bernardo Silva – 4.0
Silva came on for Real Madrid at the start of the second half. There were positive moments, including three successful challenges and an impressive back-heel that helped launch a counter-attack.
However, three fouls suggested he was late to a number of challenges. Silva was also slow and predictable when Real Madrid reached the Ferencvaros penalty area. Vinicius Junior did not appear reluctant to involve him, rolling the ball into his path several times, but Silva was unable to make enough of those opportunities.
Arda Guler was the dominant figure in central midfield for Real Madrid. He won 10 of 13 duels, completed four successful dribbles and repeatedly added urgency to the attacks.
Denzel Dumfries – 3.0
Dumfries was involved in two major penalty incidents early in the match. He failed to win a spot-kick for Real Madrid when Gomez made a clean sliding tackle to take the ball away from him. Almost immediately afterwards, Dumfries was lucky not to concede a penalty at the other end after Ferencvaros’ Chirkevich struck the ball against his raised arm.
The referee did not spot the contact and the absence of VAR meant the decision could not be reconsidered. Dumfries then lost track of Kadu midway through the first half as the Ferencvaros player broke through and fired at goal, although the effort went wide.
The Dutch defender lost all three of his individual duels. His main attacking contribution was an awkward lay-off, while another shot was blocked.
Brahim Diaz was also ineffective on that side of the pitch. On the opposite flank, Alvaro Carreras failed to make a strong impression, although he did block two attempts from the hosts.
Dean Huijsen – 3.0
Huijsen came on at half-time but did not appear to have the required focus. He made no serious attempt to cut out a cross from Kristoffer Zachariassen aimed at Kenan Kodro.
Antonio Rudiger was considered less at fault for the chance because Huijsen was the first defender expected to anticipate the ball and intercept it. Instead, he failed to accelerate quickly enough and stopped.
Huijsen also created unnecessary danger in front of his own penalty area, including a careless turnover. Performances of that kind could give Rivas a claim to a starting place, at least in Real Madrid’s first official matches.
