Real Madrid’s newest signing Franco Mastantuono produced moments of magic in River Plate’s first FIFA Club World Cup match.

Mastantuono, who is widely regarded as one of the world’s most exciting young talents, inked a six-year deal with Real Madrid this summer. The biggest club in the world paid a total of €63.2 million ($72.6 million) to bring the 17-year-old to the Spanish capital, completing the most expensive sale in the history of Argentina.

Despite the recent transfer, Mastantuono is still representing River Plate in the United States this summer. The Argentine will not join Real Madrid until he turns 18 in August, leaving him to compete in one final tournament with his boyhood club.

Mastantuono and River Plate kicked off their FIFA Club World Cup campaign against Urawa Red Diamonds at Lumen Field. The teenager got the nod on the right wing in his 62nd appearance for the Argentinian outfit and got to put his left foot on display almost instantly.

After winning his side a free kick inside the first two minutes of the match, Mastantuono stepped up to deliver a pinpoint ball from 30 yards out. His quality service whipped into the penalty area, but no one on his team could get on the end of it.

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Still, the set piece sounded alarm bells for Urawa Red Diamonds, who struggled to deal with the mounting pressure from River Plate down the right-hand side of the pitch. In fact, it only took Marcelo Gallardo’s side 12 minutes to find the match’s opening goal, and the play all started with Mastantuono.

The 17-year-old controlled a bouncing pass with his chest at the halfway line and then dribbled past two players in red, drifting centrally as he pushed forward. Mastantuono continued his run before playing a lovely ball to Marcos Acuña on the left wing, who sent a cross into the penalty area. Facundo Colidio headed the ball home to put River Plate up 1–0.

Mastantuono will not appear on the scoresheet, but it was his efforts in the build-up that allowed his side to take the early lead.

As the game unfolded, the Argentine continued to take on defenders, almost daring them to try and keep up with him in 1-v-1 situations. He dribbled past opponents with relative ease, but his desire to always cut inside onto his left foot left the door open for Urawa Red Diamonds to dispossess the talented forward.

A great sign for Real Madrid, though, was how willing Mastantuono was to drop deep to receive the ball. The Argentina international would sometimes go well into his own half just to link up with his teammates in an attempt to kickstart River Plate’s attack.

Mastantuono was not content to wait for the ball to come to him, and if he had to drift centrally to get involved in the play, he did so with confidence. In fact, he shined more as a No. 10 in the fixture than he did on the right wing.

Urawa Red Diamonds eventually put two defenders on Mastantuono, limiting his impact on the game as the minutes ticked on. His first real opportunity to find the back of the net in the second half came in the 82nd minute, but his header from close range glanced wide.

Mastantuono’s quiet ending to the match somewhat dimmed his brilliant early performance, but he still ended the fixture with the most dribbles (3) and the most duels won (10) in River Plate’s 3–1 victory.

Madridistas should be happy with Mastantuono’s outing, especially given Real Madrid’s recent lack of creativity and production on the right side of the pitch. Having a player of Mastantuono’s quality linking up with Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right flank will make Real Madrid one of the most dangerous teams in Europe once again.

Mastantuono will be back in action for River Plate on Saturday, June 21, against Sergio Ramos and Monterrey.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Franco Mastantuono: Real Madrid’s New Signing Shines in River Plate’s Club World Cup Opener.

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