Mbappé starts against Schalke, Diomande on the bench

Kylian Mbappé is getting back into the fold right away. The star striker is named in the starting XI to face Schalke 04 in Real Madrid’s final friendly game of pre-season in the Veltins-Arena.

Jose Mourinho also handed a first start to Ibrahima Konate in a bid to finalize his starting XI against Espanyol for Madrid’s LaLiga opener. Bernardo Silva and Fede Valverde start in a double pivot with Vinicius Jr., Arda Güler and Brahim Diaz in front of them.

Real Madrid XI: Thibaut Courtois; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Dean Huijsen, Alvaro Carreras; Silva, Valverde, Vini Jr., Güler, Brahim; Mbappé.

It is interesting that, despite having had a few training sessions with the team, new signing Yan Diomande is yet to make a start. It will remain intriguing to observe if the youngster gets any minutes in the second half. On the other hand, it could simply be a precaution due to any benign fitness issues that may not have been resolved yet.