Real Madrid will once again feel the warmth of the public. It will not be his own hobby, but that of Glasgow Rangers, but it starts with something. The white team will play its first proper friendly of the preseason this Sunday; He has already played two training matches against Fuenlabrada (won 3-1) and Rayo (1-1), but in Valdebebas and behind closed doors. On Sunday 25, from 7:00 p.m. (Real Madrid TV), Ancelotti's men face off with Steven Gerrard's Rangers, reigning Scottish champions. And they will do it in front of almost 13,000 souls.
Specifically, there will be 12,750, which the Scottish health authorities have allowed for this meeting, which will be the first in which Madrid play with the public since the pandemic started. I had not seen the public Madrid team in the stands since March 8, 2020, six days before the state of alarm was declared in Spain due to the increase in COVID-19 cases. It was in Seville, at Benito Villamarín against Betis, in a match that ended in defeat (2-1).
The COVID situation in Glasgow
On Sunday in Glasgow, 504 days later, Madrid will feel the presence of the public in the stands of the Ibrox Stadium, which will accommodate 25% of its maximum capacity (50,817 seats). The Scottish authorities are reaching out when it comes to attending mass sporting events, as can be clearly seen in the case of Rangers: Saturday will play a friendly against Brighton in front of 8,500 spectators; on Sunday against Madrid they will be almost 13,000; in the league debut against Livingston the limit has already been set at 17,000; and the hope of the Protestant club is that on August 10 it will be able to fill its fiefdom for the dispute of the previous phase of the Champions League against the winner of the round between Swedish Malmoe and Finnish HJK Helsinki.
As in all of Europe, also in Scotland the Delta variant of the coronavirus is making a dent in the contagion figures, although hospitalizations and deaths have plummeted thanks to vaccination. In its last data update, yesterday at 2:00 p.m., Scotland had detected 1,686 new cases after performing almost 31,500 tests, with a positivity rate of 6%. The Glasgow health area recorded 422 of these cases and has a cumulative 7-day incidence of 283 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Numbers somewhat better than Spain (327) and the Community of Madrid (318).
Lightning trip of Madrid
Real Madrid will shorten their stay in Glasgow as much as possible to face Rangers this Sunday. You'll travel on the morning of the game and stay at the Crown Plaza, on the banks of the River Clyde and just over two miles by car from Ibrox Stadium. After the match, which will take place at 7:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. in Glasgow), Madrid will get back on the plane and return to Spain to start preparing a new work week in this preseason.
On this trip, except for surprise, none of the white internationals who have participated in the Eurocup will attend. Neither will Carvajal, with a special work plan, nor the injured Mendy. There will be many homegrown players.