Schalke gave a decent account of themselves against a star-stacked Real Madrid side on Sunday. - © Christof Koepsel

bundesliga

Schalke beaten by Real Madrid in anniversary match

16.08.2026

Schalke lost their final pre-season game of the summer 3-0 against Real Madrid in a friendly to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Royal Blues' home, which was officially opened on 13 August 2001.

Schalke 0-3 Real Madrid
Goals: 0-1 Mbappé 6', 0-2 Huijsen 20', 0-3 Espí 57'

Kylian Mbappé and Dean Huijsen got Madrid off to a flyer in the first half, as the visitors were 2-0 up inside 20 minutes. Los Blancos weren't quite as threatening in the second period, although they did notch a third thanks to summer arrival Carlos Espí, who got on the end of an inviting Álvaro Carreras cross.

As it happened!

0 - 3

(0 - 2)

Schalke

FINAL

Madrid

Friendly
VELTINS-Arena

Full-time: Schalke 0-3 Real Madrid

The Royal Blues lose their final pre-season game of the summer against an impressive Real Madrid outfit. Schalke head coach Muslić can take a number of positives from the match, with his side showing glimpses over their quality going forward. Mbappé, Huijsen and Espí got the goals for Madrid, while El-Faouzi was the pick of the Schalke players in the middle of the park, creating two of their best openings. Next up for Schalke is a trip to fourth-tier Hallescher in the DFB Cup.

Full-time

89'

Sitter!

Madrid miss the chance to add a fourth goal. Espí unselfishly rolls the ball across the six-yard box to Ciria, who has an open goal, but the youngster skies the ball over the bar.

87'

Final changes for Real

A trio of youngsters are on for the Spanish side: Rivas, Voloshyn and Ciria.

87'

Substitution

Alexis Ciria

Vinicius Jr

86'

Substitution

Ilya Voloshyn

Andriy Lunin

86'

Substitution

Mario Rivas

Dean Huijsen

84'

Penalty appeal!

Vinicius Jr goes down inside the Schalke box under the challenge of Ayhan. However, the referee waves away his appeals for a penalty kick.

Here comes Džeko

The Schalke cult hero is on for his first club appearance of the summer. Can he grab a late consolation goal for the hosts?

81'

Substitution

Christian Gomis

Junior Adamu

80'

Substitution

Edin Džeko

Moussa Sylla

77'

Substitution

Luca Vozar

Dejan Ljubičić

77'

Substitution

Janik Bachmann

Adil Aouchiche

Espí can't convert

Vinicius Jr squares the ball across the Schalke box and finds Espí, but the 21-year-old can't turn the ball home on the stretch.

74'

Substitution

Jorge Cestero

Federico Valverde

73'

Goal disallowed

Vinicius Jr is played through on goal by Bellingham. He slots the ball past Karius, but the assistant referee's offside flag was already in the air.

72'

Camavinga booked

The Madrid midfielder picks up a yellow card for stamping on the foot of El-Faouzi.

71'

Yellow card

Eduardo Camavinga

Good chance for the hosts!

El-Faouzi gets to the byline and cuts the ball back for Adamu in the middle of the six-yard box. He tries to flick it goalwards but a group of Madrid defenders swam on the ball and eventually clear it away. That was great work again by the industrious El-Faouzi.

67'

Aouchiche hits one...

It's another long-range shot from the Schalke forward, but he can't trouble Lunin in the Madrid goal from that distance.

65'

Both sides make changes

Former BVB man Bellingham is on for the last 30 minutes or so, and is roundly booed by the home fans. Schalke, meanwhile, have brought on new signings Wöber and Tanaka.

62'

Substitution

Satoshi Tanaka

Ron Schallenberg

62'

Substitution

Maximilian Wöber

Hasan Kuruçay

61'

Substitution

Marc Cucurella

Álvaro Carreras

61'

Substitution

Yan Diomande

Brahim Díaz

61'

Substitution

Denzel Dumfries

Trent Alexander-Arnold

61'

Substitution

Jude Bellingham

Bernardo Silva

Espi adds a third!

It all comes from another flowing Madrid counter. Carreras breaks away down the left, and eventually floats an inviting ball towards the back post, where young forward Espí simply has to nod the ball home from a few yards out. Easy as you like from the visitors, who are in cruise control.

57'

GOAL! SCHALKE 0-3 REAL MADRID

Scorer: Carlos Espí

54'

Last-ditch defending

A long Camavinga ball finds Vinicius Jr on the right side of the box. He tries to cross the ball to Espí in the middle, but T. Becker throws himself at the ball and turns it away for a corner kick.

52'

Espí denied

The Madrid forward, who has just come on, tries to get in behind Ayhan, but the Schalke youngster reads his movements perfectly and makes a fine tackle.

47'

Substitution

Mertcan Ayhan

Nikola Katić

47'

Substitution

Carlos Espí

Kylian Mbappé

47'

Substitution

Eduardo Camavinga

Arda Güler

47'

Substitution

Antonio Rüdiger

Ibrahima Konaté

47'

Second half gets going

The ball is rolling again at the Veltins-Arena - can Schalke get themselves back into this one?

46'

Substitution

Andriy Lunin

Thibaut Courtois

Kick-off!

Half-time: Schalke 0-2 Real Madrid

The Spanish giants lead at the break thanks to first half goals from Mbappé and Huijsen. Madrid would have scored a few more goals had it not been for a couple of fine interventions from Karius and T. Becker. Schalke have had plenty of the ball and some half-chances of their own, but they'll need to improve significantly in the second period if they want to avoid defeat in their final pre-season match.

Half-time

43'

Good spell of possession

Real have dropped back into a defensive shape and are letting the hosts move the ball around. Aouchiche eventually pulls the trigger from range, but his effort at goal is well off target.

40'

Mbappé booked

The Madrid forward gets into a tussle with Katić and ends up pushing the Bosnian, for which he receives a yellow card.

39'

Yellow card

Kylian Mbappé

Off the line!

Mbappé is once again played in behind the Schalke defenders by Güler. He then tries to square the ball across the box to the unmarked Vinicius Jr, but T. Becker scrambles back and manages to block the ball on his own goal line.

Fine save from Karius!

Mbappé beats his marker down the left channel and floats a lovely ball towards the back post. Huijsen rises highest again and heads the ball goalward, but this time, Karius gets a strong hand to the ball and palms it away. That was an excellent stop from the former Liverpool man.

31'

Wide from Sylla

El-Faouzi's persistence down the right side pays off as he manages to pick out Sylla inside the Madrid box. He tries a first-time shot, but drags it a metre or so wide of the far post.

29'

Mbappé flagged offside

Alexander-Arnold tries to threat a through ball into the path of the French forward, but he had just strayed offside. The Schalke high line did its job on that occasion.

25'

Good work from V. Becker

The Schalke defender stays strong up against the lively Díaz on the right, shielding the ball out for a goal kick after a brief duel.

Huijsen doubles Madrid's lead!

Carreras swings in an inviting corner from the left, and the Spanish defender is unmarked in the middle of the box to head the ball beyond Karius. It wasn't the most powerful of headers, but the direction was enough to beat the Schalke stopper.

20'

GOAL! SCHALKE 0-2 REAL MADRID

Scorer: Dean Huijsen

18'

Schalke back on the ball

Despite the array of star names in the Los Blancos ranks, it is Schalke who are enjoying most of the ball. They've moved it very well so far, although Madrid are primed to capitalise on any errors.

14'

Chance for Sylla

The Schalke forward is picked out in the middle of the Madrid box, but his header is straight at the towering Courtois.

11'

Mbappé almost has a second!

He bursts past Katić down the left channel and drives into the Schalke box. However, Karius gets down well to stop Mbappe's shot from a tight angle. Madrid look a threat whenever they venture forward at the moment.

Madrid lead!

Against the run of play, who else but Mbappé pops up with the opening goal of the game. A poor attempted back-pass from Schallenberg is cut out by Mbappé, who has the simple task of slotting the ball past a stranded Karius. 1-0 to the visitors.

GOAL! SCHALKE 0-1 REAL MADRID!

Scorer: Kylian Mbappé

Early Schalke pressure

The hosts are putting Madrid under some sustained early pressure with a series of long throw-ins.

We're underway!

Schalke get the game going in their familiar blue and white home kit. Madrid are in their changed all-pink strip.

Kick-off!

Here come the players...

We're just moments away from kick-off in Schalke's final pre-season game of the summer.

Enemy territory

Former Borussia Dortmund man Bellingham is back at the Veltins-Arena for the first time since 2023. The England international was involved in the most recent Revierderby in March 2023, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

More on that Madrid side

José Mourinho, meanwhile, has selected a host of star names to face Schalke. French striker Mbappé comes in for his first start of pre-season, while Valverde and Alexander-Arnold start after coming off the bench against Deportivo in their last friendly match. Former Dortmund man Bellingham is among the Madrid subs.

More on that Schalke side

Head coach Miron Muslić makes four changes from the side that lost 3-0 to Atalanta in their most recent pre-season match. Ayhan and Tanaka both drop to the bench today, while club captain Karaman (pictured) and Ebimbe are absent from the matchday squad. Katic, Schallenberg, Sylla and Ljubićić are all drafted in to face Los Blancos.

Starting line-up: Schalke

Formation:4-2-3-1

Schalke subs

Müller, Ayhan, Bachmann, Džeko, Gomis, Leonard, Porath, Tanaka, Vozar, Wöber.

Starting line-up: Real Madrid

Courtois - Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Huijsen, Carreras - Silva, Valverde (c) - Díaz, Güler, Vinícius Júnior - Mbappé

Real Madrid subs

Lunin, Ilia, Bellingham, Camavinga, Cucurella, Espí, Rüdiger, Dumfries, Diomande, Cestero, Rivas, Ciria.

Will we see Schalke's summer signings?

The hosts have been active in the transfer market this summer. Junior Dina Ebimbe, Satoshi Tanaka and Junior Adamu all played last time out against Atalanta and are expected to be involved once again. Robin Gosens, who missed the 3-0 defeat against his former club, could come back in against Madrid after returning to team training this week.

Fond memories

New Real Madrid head coach José Mourinho, who returned to the Spanish giants in June 2026, has fond memories of coaching at the Veltins-Arena. In 2004, he won the UEFA Champions League there as head coach of Porto, who defeated Monaco 3-0 in one of the decade's most one-sided finals.

El-Faouzi on what coach Miron Muslić demands

"The head coach expects us to go full throttle in every match – no matter who the opponent is. We’ll do exactly that against Real Madrid. Even though we’re facing a strong opponent, we want to maintain our clear structure on the pitch and apply our principles throughout the 90 minutes."

Soufiane El-Faouzi on excitement ahead of Madrid clash

"I was absolutely delighted. I’ve been following Real Madrid since my childhood. For me, a small dream is coming true, being able to play against this club. As a team, we’ll give everything to offer the fans in the VELTINS‑Arena a great anniversary match."

0:46

Watch: Yan Diomande - entertainer extraordinaire

In his only season in the Bundesliga, Diomande contributed a staggering 13 goals and eight assists in 33 league appearances for Leipzig, which earned the 19-year-old a reputation as one of the most exciting wingers in world football.

Debut on the cards?

Yan Diomande has been included in the Madrid squad that travelled to Germany on Saturday. Yet to feature so far for José Mourinho's side since joining a little over a week ago, could the former Leipzig winger's fledgling Los Blancos career take flight back in the country where he made a name for himself?

2:57

Watch: Jude Bellingham - Magic Moments

The England star scored 24 goals in 132 total appearances across three seasons for Die Schwarzgelben between 2020 and 2023, with whom he also won the DFB Cup in 2021.

Ex-Bundesliga quartet return

Amongst the travelling Madrid contingent are a host of stars who jumpstarted their careers in the Bundesliga. Jude Bellingham (pictured) enjoyed three impressive seasons on the books of Borussia Dortmund, centre-backs Ibrahima Konaté and Antonio Rüdiger both broke through at Leipzig and Stuttgart, respectively, and most recently, Yan Diomande completed a high-profile switch to Los Blancos earlier this summer after enjoying a stellar 2025/26 campaign with Die Roten Bullen.

Miron Muslić thrilled by prospect of Madrid test

“There’s so much we can learn from games like these. That was already the case against Atalanta. Real obviously have even more quality, and it’s also their last friendly before they begin their La Liga campaign [...] We're looking forward to the special challenge of testing ourselves against one of the best teams in Europe and one of the biggest names in world football at the Arena on Sunday [...] It’s a privilege for us to welcome Real Madrid to the VELTINS-Arena for this anniversary match.”

1:55

Watch: Raúl's top five Schalke goals

2:00

Watch: Huntelaar's top five Schalke goals

Schalke & Madrid legend

Seven players have featured for both clubs. Legendary Spanish striker Raúl scored 40 goals in 98 Schalke appearances following a trophy-laden spell at Madrid, while Mesut Özil made his professional debut with the Royal Blues before eventually moving to Spain. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Hamit Altintop are among the other names to have represented both sides.

Memorable encounters

Schalke have faced Madrid four times in the UEFA Champions League down the years. Los Blancos registered a 9-2 aggregate victory in the last 16 of the 2013/14 competition, before edging through 5-4 on aggregate at the same stage of the following edition - but not before the Royal Blues had given them a proper scare in the second leg with a remarkable 4-3 victory at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

Real Madrid: Pre-season so far

Italian club Fiorentina are the only side Madrid have failed to beat this summer. José Mourinho's men have triumphed over Alcorcón (1-0), Leganés (4-1), Ferencváros (2-1) and Deportivo de A Coruña (1-0), but Schalke are certain to provide a stern test.

Schalke: Pre-season so far

The Royal Blues' 3-0 defeat to Serie A side Atalanta on Saturday ended a run of four straight pre-season victories for Miron Muslić's side, against Erzgebirge Aue (4-2), Metalist Kharkiv (2-0), Fagiano Okayama (3-1) and Hessen Kassel (5-0). They began their preparations for the 2026/27 season with a 2-1 defeat to Gütersloh back on 11 July.

Welcome along!

Hello and thank you for joining us for build-up and live match coverage of Schalke's highly anticipated pre-season friendly against Real Madrid at the Veltins-Arena.

Summary

Full-time: Schalke 0-3 Real Madrid

Sitter!

Final changes for Real

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Penalty appeal!

Here comes Džeko

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Espí can't convert

Substitution

Goal disallowed

Camavinga booked

Yellow card

Good chance for the hosts!

Aouchiche hits one...

Both sides make changes

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Espi adds a third!

GOAL! SCHALKE 0-3 REAL MADRID

Last-ditch defending

Espí denied

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Second half gets going

Substitution

Half-time: Schalke 0-2 Real Madrid

Good spell of possession

Mbappé booked

Yellow card

Off the line!

Fine save from Karius!

Wide from Sylla

Mbappé flagged offside

Good work from V. Becker

Huijsen doubles Madrid's lead!

GOAL! SCHALKE 0-2 REAL MADRID

Schalke back on the ball

Chance for Sylla

Mbappé almost has a second!

Madrid lead!

GOAL! SCHALKE 0-1 REAL MADRID!

Early Schalke pressure

We're underway!

Here come the players...

Enemy territory

More on that Madrid side

More on that Schalke side

Starting line-up: Schalke

Schalke subs

Starting line-up: Real Madrid

Real Madrid subs

Will we see Schalke's summer signings?

Fond memories

El-Faouzi on what coach Miron Muslić demands

Soufiane El-Faouzi on excitement ahead of Madrid clash

Watch: Yan Diomande - entertainer extraordinaire

Debut on the cards?

Watch: Jude Bellingham - Magic Moments

Ex-Bundesliga quartet return

Miron Muslić thrilled by prospect of Madrid test

Watch: Raúl's top five Schalke goals

Watch: Huntelaar's top five Schalke goals

Schalke & Madrid legend

Memorable encounters

Real Madrid: Pre-season so far

Schalke: Pre-season so far

Welcome along!

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