French striker Kylian Mbappé scored six minutes into his Real Madrid pre-season debut on Sunday as the Spanish side defeated German team Schalke 04. The fixture marked Madrid's final warm-up match before the start of the La Liga season and served as Mbappé's first game playing under new manager José Mourinho.
Mbappé started in attack alongside Vinicius and capitalized quickly on a major defensive error from the German club, slotting past Schalke goalkeeper Loris Karius to give Real Madrid an early lead.
Early goal and half-time substitution
The France international played only forty-five minutes in his return to action. Before being withdrawn at the interval, Mbappé missed two significant opportunities to double his goal count and received a yellow card late in the first half.
Real Madrid head coach José Mourinho replaced Mbappé at half-time with Carlos Espi, a summer arrival from Levante. Espi went on to score Madrid's third and final goal of the afternoon to seal the victory.
Summer context and goalscoring record
Mbappé entered the match following a contrasting summer for Real Madrid supporters. No Real Madrid players were included in the Spain squad that won the 2026 World Cup, while Mbappé produced a highly decisive tournament for France following a difficult second half of the domestic season with Madrid.
The French captain, who stands as the all-time leading goalscorer in the history of the France national team, finished as La Liga's top scorer in each of the past two seasons. The former Paris Saint-Germain forward now heads into the new campaign aiming to build on that domestic record.
Pre-season summary and upcoming fixtures
Sunday's win wrapped up a pre-season schedule in which Real Madrid recorded three victories from four friendly matches. During their warm-up tour, the Spanish club faced Fiorentina, Ferencvaros, Deportivo La Coruña, and Schalke 04.
Real Madrid will begin their official competitive season next Saturday, when they face Espanyol Barcelona on the opening matchday of La Liga.
