Real Madrid held by Fiorentina as Dumfries and Espi make first appearances

Real Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw by Fiorentina in Austria on Saturday, with new arrivals Denzel Dumfries and Carlos Espi making their first appearances for the Spanish club.

The friendly was played at Worthersee Stadium, where Real Madrid built a two-goal lead before Fiorentina fought back to earn a share of the spoils.

Endrick opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Alvaro Carreras sent a low cross into the area and the Brazilian striker finished powerfully with his left foot to put Real Madrid ahead.

Arda Guler doubled their advantage with a shot from inside the penalty area after Eduardo Camavinga supplied a low pass.

Fiorentina responded before half-time when Roberto Piccoli reduced the deficit in the 41st minute. The forward struck a powerful effort towards the goalkeeper’s left, giving his side hope of recovering from the two-goal setback.

That recovery was completed in the second half. Moise Kean equalised in the 58th minute with an impressive header, ensuring the match ended level.

The game also marked the first outings in Real Madrid colours for Dumfries and Espi, who were included among the club’s new arrivals.

Real Madrid had begun their pre-season schedule with a 4-1 victory over Leganes. Their next friendly is against Hungarian side Ferencvarosi on 8 August.

The Spanish club will then begin their La Liga campaign on 22 August, when they face Espanyol.

For Fiorentina, the draw was their first non-winning result of the current run of preparations. They had started with an 8-1 victory over the youth team before beating Goztepe 1-0. They then lost 3-2 to Queens Park Rangers and followed that defeat with a 1-0 win against Watford.

Fabio Grosso’s Fiorentina will continue their preparations with matches against Deportivo La Coruna on 6 August and Modena on 8 August.

The Viola will begin their league campaign on 24 August with a demanding fixture against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.