Fans at the Rose Bowl came to see a host of stars take the field in a friendly preseason between Real Madrid and AC Milan on Sunday evening, but two in particular were on display, and both delivered.
Madrid would walk away with a 3-2 victory on a late Vinicius Jr winner, turning around a 2-0 halftime deficit, but he was just an exclamation point on a fabulous 90 minutes oozing with storylines. Fikayo Tomori and Luka Romero were the Milan goal scorers in the first half, while Federico Valverde's quick-fire brace brought Madrid back level before the hour mark.New arrivals Christian Pulisic and Jude Bellingham, joining Milan and Madrid, respectively, this summer, were the story, and both performed as advertised throughout an exciting first half, with Pulisic picking up an assist on the opening goal with a corner.
Milan were left to rue their errors in allowing Madrid back in the match after halftime, as backup goalkeeper Marco Sportiello's howler granted the first before an awful back-pass gifted the second.
Thoughts are also with ESPN analyst Shaka Hislop, who collapsed live on air during the network's pre-match coverage. ESPN informed viewers throughout the match that Hislop was well, so fans can hope he makes a full recovery with whatever ailment brought on the terrifying moment.
The Sporting News followed the Real Madrid vs AC Milan match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happened.
Real Madrid vs AC Milan final score
| Score | goal scorers | |
| real Madrid | 3 | Valverde ( 57' , 59' ), Vinicius Jr ( 84' ) |
| AC Milan | 2 | Tomori ( 25' ), Romero ( 42' ) |