New Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui has declared himself pleased with his side's progress heading into the 2018-19 La Liga campaign.
Los Blancos face Juventus in their second summer friendly on Saturday evening, a few days on from losing 2-1 against Manchester United.
Despite the disjointed nature of Madrid's pre-season programme, with only one other fixture pencilled in before facing Atletico Madrid in the European Super Cup, Lopetegui insists that his side are on track.
"It's been positive. We're working very hard as is normal at this time of year, with real intensity and the resulting fatigue," he told the club's official website. "We're hitting our goals both physically and tactically, assimilating new concepts and reinforcing elements of our collective game and tactical aspects which we are addressing every day.
"The main aim of pre-season is to get ready for the competitive games and go into those in the best possible fashion on group and individual levels. Players are coming back at different stages and we're trying to make sure they are all preparing in the same way.
"We were pleased the team showed good character [against Man United] despite the different preparation levels. They'd played five games and it was our first. Particularly in the second half, the team showed quality and real personality. We played a good match in general terms and attempted to translate all we've been working on to the pitch."
Lopetegui was appointed as Zinedine Zidane's successor at the Bernabeu in June, leading to his sacking as Spain boss.
Daniel Lewis
