Ancelotti's preseason training remained brutally demanding, with an extremely high intensity.
Although the Real Madrid internationals who had participated in the European Cup had not returned in time, Real Madrid had called up quite a few young players from the Youth Training Camp to join the First Team. Every one of them desperately wanted to stay with the First Team, so they naturally trained especially hard.
The Youth Training Camp players' hard work also spurred on the First Team stars. None of them wanted to lose to those youngsters, so they refused to be outdone and began giving it their all as well. The training atmosphere throughout Valdebebas became incredibly heated, leaving the newly signed Hazard and Azpilicueta especially puzzled.
They had always heard that Real Madrid's training intensity was not particularly high, but after experiencing it firsthand, they were astonished to discover that the seemingly kind-hearted Ancelotti was actually so brutal.
Of course, the Italian Head Coach did not rely exclusively on high-intensity training. This brutal training was mainly concentrated in the preseason and winter-break camps. During the season, the focus was primarily on adjustment and recovery, so the training intensity was much lower.
After the team had trained together for a week, Real Madrid held an internal scrimmage, mainly pitting the First Team players against the Youth Training Camp youngsters. Yang Yang did not appear in either lineup and instead sat on the sidelines watching.
Unexpectedly, Real Madrid, with stars such as Mascherano, Herrera, Di Maria, and Hazard, was battered by the Youth Training Camp in the scrimmage, conceding five goals and ultimately suffering a crushing 1–5 defeat.
Morata and Jesé both performed exceptionally well, while the Youth Training Camp's right-back Carvajal provided two assists.
Yang Yang and Zidane could only shake their heads as they watched from