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It should be noted that this was only Real Madrid's first preseason match, so some of the judgements made in this recap might not be accurate as the season develops. But yes, Isco is impressive. We explained in a tactical analysis what Ancelotti could get out of Isco before the signing was confirmed. And the Italian coach seems to like Isco as a center midfielder in a 4-3-3 formation. Ancelotti decided to play Khedira as Real Madrid's defensive midfielder with Modric and Isco in the middle. Mesut Özil played in the right wing most of the time and Cristiano Ronaldo had absolute freedom on the pitch, so the left wing was right for the taking whenever the Portuguese player decided to move elsewhere.
That might be perfect for Isco, since the Spanish youngster likes to go there frequently. But what was surprising about Isco was his workrate. Nobody expected him to have that kind of presence on the pitch, and whether it was due to his desire to impress or his new attitude as a player is still unknown, but it was certainly good to see him working that way.
Özil was quite invisible for most of the first half, but he improved a little bit as the team got tired. Benzema was the one player that didn't find his place throughout the first 45 minutes, but one thing is for certain: Karim Benzema is in shape. He ran after a couple of long balls and was quite fast. If he keeps himself in that shape, he will find his groove.
Carvajal, Pepe, Nacho, Coentrao and Diego López didn't have to work much, as expected.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice -the first one off a nice free-kick- and Khedira put Real Madrid's third goal off a corner-kick taken by Isco.
Carlo Ancelotti left the second half to Illarramendi, Kaka', Casemiro, Di María, Higuaín and some other players that spent the first half on the bench. Cheryshev played as a left back while Morata was deployed as a left winger to give Higuaín room in the middle. This was a much obvious 4-2-3-1 formation.
It's a shame that Casemiro and Illarramendi didn't have much work to take care of. Bournemouth was tired and it was quite easy for Kaka', Di María and Morata to find the ball. Furthermore, Real Madrid never needed Illarra and Casemiro's defensive presence, so both midfielders might be waiting for a bigger test to show what they're capable off. But it's necessary to state that Illarramendi improved his game. He has that 'old-school midfielder-look' that is always appealing to see in that position.
Gonzalo Higuaín scored what might be his last goal as a Real Madrid player after a good assist by Morata. Nacho and Carvajal played almost 70 minutes but then were replaced by Quini and Casado.
Di María kept turning the ball over frantically, but he managed to score Real Madrid's fifth goal after he dribbled three Bournemouth defenders and shot the ball from outside the box. The Argentinian player will have to improve the level he showed last season if he wants to compete with Isco, but he might be a perfect player to come off the bench and change the games if needed -and if Ancelotti convinces him of this new role-. Di María still got time to assist Casemiro in Real Madrid's sixth goal when both teams were already looking forward for the referee to call the end of the match.
Casado, Cheryshev and Quini ended up not playing in their natural positions, but they had to adapt and gave their best to show they're ready to contribute whenever needed. Mateos and goalkeeper Jesús were the other Castilla players that performed in this game.
The team will now play against Olympique Lyonnais this Wednesday (21:00 CET) in what will surely be a much tougher test than this match against a Bournemouth team that gave their best but were no match for Real Madrid.