Real Madrid vs AC Milan score, result, highlights as Pulisic and Bellingham star for new clubs in USA friendly

Kyle Bonn

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Real Madrid vs AC Milan score, result, highlights as Pulisic and Bellingham star for new clubs in USA friendly image

Fans at the Rose Bowl came to see a host of stars take the field in a friendly preseason between Real Madrid and AC Milan on Sunday evening, but two in particular were on display, and both delivered.

Madrid would walk away with a 3-2 victory on a late Vinicius Jr winner, turning around a 2-0 halftime deficit, but he was just an exclamation point on a fabulous 90 minutes oozing with storylines. Fikayo Tomori and Luka Romero were the Milan goal scorers in the first half, while Federico Valverde's quick-fire brace brought Madrid back level before the hour mark.

New arrivals Christian Pulisic and Jude Bellingham, joining Milan and Madrid, respectively, this summer, were the story, and both performed as advertised throughout an exciting first half, with Pulisic picking up an assist on the opening goal with a corner.

Milan were left to rue their errors in allowing Madrid back in the match after halftime, as backup goalkeeper Marco Sportiello's howler granted the first before an awful back-pass gifted the second.

Thoughts are also with ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop, who collapsed live on air during the network's pre-match coverage. ESPN informed viewers throughout the match that Hislop was well, so fans can hope he makes a full recovery with whatever ailment brought on the terrifying moment.

MORE: ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop recovering from collapse during coverage prior to Madrid vs Milan

Real Madrid vs AC Milan final score

  Score goal scorers
real Madrid 3 Valverde ( 57' , 59' ),
Vinicius Jr ( 84' )
AC Milan 2 Tomori ( 25' ),
Romero ( 42' )

Starting lineups:

Real Madrid (4-4-2, right to left): Lunin (GK) — L. Vazquez, Militao (Alaba, 46'), N. Fernandez (Rudiger, 46'), Mendy (F. Garcia, 46') — F. Valverde, Bellingham (Paz, 63'), Camavinga (Tchouameni, 46'), Kroos (Modric, 46') — B. Dia z (Rodrygo, 46'), Joselu (Vinicius Jr, 46').

AC Milan (4-3-3, right to left): Sportiello (GK — Maignan, 70') — Calabria (Saelemaekers, 70'), Simic (Kjaer, 70'), Tomori (Thiaw, 70'), Florenzi (T. Hernandez, 70') — Krunic (Reijnders, 70'), Loftus-Cheek (Adli, 70' ), Pobega (De Ketalere, 70') — Messias (Romero, 32'), Colombo (Giroud, 70'), Pulisic (Leao, 70').

Real Madrid vs AC Milan live updates, highlights, comments

FULL TIME: Real Madrid 3-2 AC Milan

What a turnaround for Real Madrid to win the match after trailing by two at halftime! Federico Valverde's brace turned the match on its head, capitalizing on a pair of Milan mistakes, and Vinicius Jr won it six minutes from the end. Valverde was the true star of Madrid's comeback, involved in all three goals.

AC Milan were made to rue their mistakes, but both sides can take away a host of positives, and those will be the important part for managers to focus on. At this stage of preseason, bugs are to be expected, and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Overall, both sides put on a show for fans, and the stars showed up. Christian Pulisic and Jude Bellingham were bright spots for their new clubs, and Vinicius Jr is a world-class player, as we already knew. An enjoyable 90 minutes!

Real Madrid vs AC Milan : Second Half

90th minute: Chance, Milan!  WHOA! Olivier Giroud takes a free-kick from a good 28 yards out, fires a howitzer looking for the top-right corner, and he comes  very  close, but misses by a few inches. Andriy Lunin could do nothing about that, and he just watched it fizz agonizingly close!

Three minutes of added time are shown.

87th min:  Hahahahaha, Vinicius Jr showsboats right in front of Simon Kjaer, with a bunch of stepovers, until the Danish defender just tackles him and snatches the ball. Vinicius is left in a heap on the end line and throws his hands up wanting a foul, but the referee doesn't bite.

Probably not what Carlo Ancelotti wants from his star forward in a preseason friendly! He's going to get himself kicked.

84th min: GOAL! MADRID! Real Madrid have turned this match on its head and now lead! Vinicius Jr scores a wonderful goal to put them in front! Federico Valverde makes a great tackle in midfield, and Luka Modric delivers a brilliant long ball perfectly for the Brazilian. Vinicius powerfully shrugs off Simon Kjaer and scores past Mike Maignon one-on-one.

The tackle, the delivery, the run, the finish. That's how Carlo Ancelotti would have drawn it up!

77th min: Chance, Milan! The Italians miss another! Rafael Leao is feasting at the moment down the left, and he cuts back to Tijjani Reijnders in acres of space. The Dutchman should take his time given how much space he has, but he slides to meet the ball first-time, and his shot is blocked. Luka Romero's follow up is dangerous as well, but he misses into the side netting! What a double chance that goes begging!

75th min: Chance, Milan! Olivier Giroud is denied by Andriy Lunin! A cross from Rafael Leao is right on a platter for Giroud, and the French international produces a high-quality header, but Lunin comes up with a STUNNING save! We're still level!

74th min: We've managed to sort out the new Milan players. The new lineup is: Maignan (GK) — Saelemaekers, Thiaw, Kjaer, T. Hernandez — Reijnders, de Ketalaere, Adli — Romero, Giroud, Leao.

Alexis Saelemaekers playing right-back is weird, as he's a natural winger. That might tell you a bit about where Christian Pulisic stands in this squad compared to other players who are seeing their positions changed.

70th min: Now the changes are made. A full TEN new players onto the field for Milan, we'll sort out who they are as much as we can. Christian Pulisic was spotted leaving the field, so his night is done, and Rafael Leao is now on the pitch for Milan.

68th min: Here's the AC Milan line change, with at least six new players entering the pitch imminently. It takes a few minutes for Milan to get a stoppage to make their changes, and their starters look absolutely exhausted. It takes some real building up to a full 90 minutes!

While they wait on the sidelines, Real Madrid take a few throw-ins quickly to keep them from making the substitutions, and Rodrygo has a rip on goal but can't hit the target.

63rd min: Jude Bellingham is withdrawn to thunderous applause at the Rose Bowl, replaced by young Nico Paz. He was exceptional throughout this match.

59th min: GOAL! MADRID! IT ONLY TOOK TWO MINUTES FOR FEDERICO VALVERDE TO BRING MADRID RIGHT BACK! This one Marco Sportiello could do nothing about, as Milan defender Fikayo Tomori turns it over with a horrid square pass, and Valverde snatches it and rifles it home with power.

Luciano Spaletti is BESIDE himself on the touchline. He can't believe it, Milan have gifted Madrid two goals in two minutes!

57th min: GOAL! MADRID! Oh no, it's a HOWLER from Marco Sportiello! Federico Valverde gets the goal, but it's all about the egg on the Madrid goalkeeper's face! Valverde's hit is weak and from far away, but Sportiello takes his eye off the ball and flubs it like a shortstop whiffing a grounder. It goes right by his hip, and Madrid have a goal back.

55th min: Chance, Madrid! Rodrygo produces Real Madrid's best chance of the match! Great passing started by Luka Modric goes through two more Madrid players before reaching Rodrygo at the top corner of the penalty area. The young Madrid winger shakes and bakes, cutting inside and firing on goal, taking it with the outside of his right and not his left.

Anywhere else it's a goal, but he fires it within reach of Marco Sportiello who makes a good diving save. Madrid close to pulling one back!

53rd min: It's been a bit disjointed at the start of the second half, with very little action. It appears that Madrid players are still getting their feet under them, while Milan players are maybe a bit tired given the preseason nature of this match. Both sides a bit caught by the situation.

47th min: After no bookings through the entire first half, we get one just two minutes into the second half as Luka Romero barges into Luka Modric shoulder-first, earning a deserved yellow card.

Kickoff: As expected, Real Madrid have made a host of changes, eight in total. Vinicius Jr, Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, and Rodrygo look like they will be some of those coming on. It appears they are back to their regular 4-3-3 as Federico Valverde moves into the front line.

On the flip side, there are no substitutions for AC Milan to this point. As they're in their second friendly of the summer, they may make their line change at the hour mark.

HALFTIME: Real Madrid 0-2 AC Milan

A very entertaining half ends with Real Madrid trailing by a pair. The scoreline, in truth, is somewhat harsh on the La Liga giants, as they were good for large stretches of the half, but were punished by quality moments in the final third, which they lacked themselves.

Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz were quality for Madrid, and both came close to creating breakthrough opportunities, but couldn't come up with the final ball. Christian Pulisic did well for Milan, who were boosted by solid defending as well.

We're likely to get a host of changes for both sides out of halftime, especially for Madrid who are in their first preseason match and likely don't have many players who are fit for 60 or 90 minutes of play.

Real Madrid vs AC Milan: First Half

45th min: Still searching for their first goal, Real Madrid have it at the byline with Federico Valverde down the right, and he floats a quality cross right to the mouth of goal, but Marco Sportiello does very well to leap at full stretch and clip it away from the danger area.

42nd min: GOAL! MILAN! WHOA! Real Madrid had been firmly in control of proceedings over the last 10 minutes, but out of nowhere, the substitute Luka Romero crops up out of nowhere and blasts Milan into a 2-0 lead!

38th min: Real Madrid have largely regained control of the match, and have troubled the Milan penalty area on numerous occasions, but have yet to get a shot through the trees to trouble the Italian club's goalkeeper.

32nd min: Junior Messias has gone off early, seemingly struggling with an injury and the club deciding not to take a chance.  18-year-old Luka Romero, who just arrived from Lazio this summer on a free transfer, enters the match in his place.

28th min: Chance, Milan! The Italians are electric on the counter! Ruben Loftus-Cheek runs right at the Madrid back line, and he feeds Junior Messias who continues the charge. He takes a shot from outside the penalty area, and it flashes just wide of the far post!

25th min: GOAL! MILAN! A set-piece has delivered the opening goal, and it's the Italian side who go in front! A corner is sent in by none other than Christian Pulisic, right to the heart of the six-yard box. Andriy Lunin doesn't command his area well, leaving Fikayo Tomori wide open to head it home.

22nd min: Chance, Real Madrid! Jude Bellingham shows his incredible dribbling skills, weaving through defenders under heavy pressure and letting fly, but the hit is blocked by a Milan defender. The rebound is collected by Toni Kroos but he can't hit the target.

What a thunderous charge by Bellingham! That's what he can do in the final third, an on-ball wizard.

20th min: Ruben Loftus-Cheek is down receiving treatment to his ankle. He is now up and walking to the touchline, but looks a bit frustrated. A player who has struggled with injuries through his career.

17th min: Chance, AC Milan! Lorenzo Colombo almost produced a moment of absolute brilliance! He is gifted possession by a Real Madrid giveaway, and lets fly on the half-volley, and it's an absolute missile but fizzes high and just wide! What a goal that would have been.

16th min: Christian Pulisic again crops up on the left edge of the penalty area for Milan, but his cutback to Ruben Loftus-Cheek is snatched away by a Madrid defender.

14th min: This match is end-to-end at the moment! First, Milan looks to send a cross from deep on the right flank into the penalty area, which is snatched by Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. Madrid go right down the other way and threaten, as Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham have been electric in possession, but it's just out of reach of Joselu who gets behind the Milan back line.

The Rose Bowl crowd is absolutely loving it!

9th min: Christian Pulisic has his first foray forward, entering possession into the left side of the penalty area. His delivery to Junior Messias is defended well upon reaching its destination. A positive sign that he's involved so soon.

7th min: Chance, Real Madrid! Federico Valverde, who loves a shot from distance, has a hit from a good 25 yards out centrally, and produces a low fizzed effort that just flashes wide right, just an inch or two outside the post! That was very, very close. Real Madrid have dominated possession to this point.

4th min: It looks like AC Milan is playing a 4-3-3 as we thought. Christian Pulisic appears to have a lot of freedom, but is mostly starting the match out wide left.

Also, there's very good new about Shaka Hislop, as his colleague Dan Thomas announced he's conscious and being looked after.

Kickoff: They're under way in Pasadena. Two big signings, one on each side, on the field from the start. A very large crowd on hand at the Rose Bowl to witness this one.

Still no word on Shaka Hislop, and the ESPN play-by-play has continued without mentioning it. We continue to keep his health in our thoughts as the match begins.

Not full but plenty here. pic.twitter.com/rqnehsGJ4l

— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) July 24, 2023

Real Madrid vs AC Milan: Pre-match commentary, analysis, stats, and more

5 mins to kick: While we're excited for this match to begin, our thoughts have immediately turned to ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop who just passed out live on the network's pre-match coverage. It was an absolutely terrifying moment, and the broadcast team was in utter panic.

It doesn't look like it has postponed the match, for now, which is a positive sign, we hope.

15 mins to kick: The players have filtered onto the field for warmups, and this match is close to getting under way!

30 mins to kick: Real Madrid have already brought Jude Bellingham into the squad for huge money, but could another massive signing be on the way? With reports of unrest between PSG and Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid are always bound to be linked with a move.

The fans in California tonight sure want it to happen!

40 mins to kick: The Rose Bowl is the site of today's matchup. A famous venue which has hosted some of the most memorable football matches on U.S. soil, including the 1994 World Cup final which saw Brazil beat Italy in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 final.

The Rose Bowl capacity is somewhere around 92,500, we'll see if we approach that tonight.

55 mins to kick: The AC Milan lineup is in as well, and just as we expected, Christian Pulisic is in the attack in front of a Rose Bowl crowd in his home nation. Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud do not appear in the lineup, but this early in the preseason that's not a huge surprise, and both will likely come on at some point during the second half.

Interestingly, while Stefano Pioli ran a 4-2-3-1 most of last season to relative success, he begins this year with a 4-3-3 lineup. Again, that could change as different players enter and exit this friendly.

1 hour 5 mins to kick: The Real Madrid lineup is in, and it looks like we might get to see the 4-4-2 diamond that Carlo Ancelotti was tinkering with the last few days of training. Eduardo Camavinga will sit at the No. 6, while Jude Bellingham runs the point at the No. 10. Toni Kroos will play in one central spot, while Federico Valverde will play in the other.

That leaves Brahim Diaz to run things up top alongside Joselu, with the former likely enjoying real freedom to roam and find space.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: Real Madrid will play in their new black away kit tonight, which has grey and gold accents. It's a pretty sweet getup!

Wearing the captain's armband will be Nacho Fernandez.

1 hour 30 mins to kick: Christian Pulisic might not be the only American at AC Milan once the summer is over. There are significant reports that the Italian club is also trying to pry Yunus Musah away from Valencia, after the Spanish club narrowly avoided relegation last year.

Musah has been playing out of position at Valencia, who insist on deploying him out wide, but he's clearly more suited to the No. 6 role, where he could replace Sandro Tonalo at Milan. It would be a sensible investment for the club.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: While Christian Pulisic begins life at AC Milan, another extremely high profile player starts anew at Real Madrid. Jude Bellingham is the biggest splash of the summer transfer window, as Madrid completely retool their midfield.

At just 20 years old, Bellingham isn't just one for the future — he's already one of the best five midfielders in the world. Last year, across all midfielders in the Big 5 European leagues, Bellingham was in the 90th percentile or higher amongst midfielders in the following stats: goals (99th), expected goals (97th), shots (94th), shot-creating actions (93rd), progressive passes (94th), progressive carries (92nd), successful take-ons (99th), and touches (98th).

High volume, high success — he's already a superstar, and at such a young age, he has legendary potential. And yes, he can defend too. Bellingham has the world at his feet.

2 hours to kickoff: Christian Pulisic is sure to be the big hit tonight, as the USMNT forward gets set to make his second preseason start for his new club.

Much has been said about what position Pulisic will play for Milan, and it's likely that Stefano Pioli will rotate him through both a wide role and a No. 10 spot. The squad is bloated at both positions, but Pulisic looks the early frontrunner to get the nod at one of those two spots while Milan sort out how to trim the fat.

Donning the number 11 shirt, Pulisic got his first minutes with Milan against Serie D side FC Lumezzane on Thursday, and while the competition wasn't exactly high-level, he recorded two assists and struck the post with a hit on goal.

Real Madrid vs AC Milan lineups & team news

The only player in the Real Madrid squad struggling with injury is Dani Ceballos, who is unavailable until September with a thigh injury suffered in training around a week ago. Otherwise, Carlo Ancelotti has his full roster available for selection, meaning he could deploy one XI for the first half and make significant changes after the break.

Karim Benzema is no longer with the Spanish club, having made his move to Saudi Arabia earlier this summer. However, Jude Bellingham has begun his integration into his new team and could be involved here, along with other new signings Joselu, Arda Guler and Fran Garcia. Brahim Diaz, who is like a new signing for Real Madrid, will face his old club in this match, having just returned from a two-year loan spell at AC Milan and signed a new deal with Madrid.

Real Madrid confirmed starting lineup (4-3-3): Lunin (GK) — L. Vazquez, Militao, N. Fernandez, Mendy — F. Valverde, Bellingham, Camavinga, Kroos  — B. Diaz, Joselu.

Real Madrid subs (14): Courtois (GK), Pineiro (GK), F. Garcia, Carvajal, Odriozola, Alaba, Rudiger, Tchouameni, Modric, Paz, Guler, Vinicius, Rodrygo.

There has been a lot of turnover at AC Milan this summer. While Sandro Tonali departed for Newcastle United and Brahim Diaz left to return to his parent club Real Madrid (and could feature tonight), there have been a large number of arrivals as well.

Christian Pulisic starts in his home country as Stefano Pioli wishes to get a key player significant minutes with which to mesh alongside his new teammates. Noah Okafor, Tijjani Reijnders, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Luka Romero and Marco Sportiello are all new at the club as well, but it's only Loftus-Cheek who makes the starting lineup.

Ismael Bennacer is the only injury worry for Milan; he's still recovering from a serious knee injury suffered in the Champions League semifinal against Inter last May.

AC Milan confirmed starting lineup (4-3-3): Sportiello (GK) — Calabria, Simic, Tomori, Florenzi — Krunic, Loftus-Cheek, Pobega — Messias, Colombo, Pulisic.

AC Milan subs (12): (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)

How to watch Real Madrid vs AC Milan

  Date Time TV Channel Streaming
UK Mon, July 24 3 a.m. BST  —  —
USA Sun, July 23 10 p.m. ET ESPN Fubo, WatchESPN
Australia Mon, July 24 5 p.m. AEST  —  —
Canada Sun, July 23 10 p.m. BT  — DAZN
Hong Kong Mon, July 24 1 p.m. HKT  —  –
India Mon, July 24 12:30 p.m. IST  —  —
Malaysia Mon, July 24 1 p.m. MYT Astro Supersport 2 Astro Go, sooka
New Zealand Mon, July 24 7 p.m. NZST  —  —
Singapore Mon, July 24 1 p.m. SST  —  —

Real Madrid vs AC Milan betting odds & lines

  Madrid
win		 Draw Milan
win		 Both teams
to score Y / N		 Over / Under
2.5 goals		 RMA
-0.5		 ACM
+0.5
BetMGM
(USA)		 -110 +250 +260 -165 / +115 -150 / +105 — —
Sports
Interaction
(Canada)		 -109 +255 +275 -189 / +120 -157 / +121 -110 -115
SkyBet
(UK)		 5/6 5/13 12/5 8/13, 6/5 4/6, 11/10 — —
Dafabet
(India)		 1.83 3.60 3.64 1.59 / 2.21 1.63 / 2.13 1.82 1.88

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.