Rodriguez, Jese, Varane on target as Spanish giants down Inter
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo (left) vies for the ball with Jeison Murillo of Inter Milan in their International Champions Cup match in Guangzhou on Monday. Real won 3-0.. (Photo: AFP)
Guangzhou: Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo put on a scintillating first-half show as Real Madrid cruised past Inter Milan 3-0 in the International Champions Cup in Guangzhou Monday.
Jese, Raphael Varane and James Rodriguez got the goals for the Spanish giants on a hot and humid night, but it was the display of the two modern-day Galacticos that will live long in the memory of the 39,896 fans who packed the Tianhe stadium.
Real Madrid thumped Manchester City 4-1 in Melbourne on Friday and it always looked like they would hand out a similar hammering to Inter.
Karim Benzema, suffering a thigh injury, was not risked, giving Jese a chance to play in a three-pronged attack with the world’s two most expensive footballers, Ronaldo and Bale.
And it didn’t take long for Ronaldo to show his intent, a neat turn in the centre circle and darting run leading to Bale being sent clear on the left in the first minute but the Welshman’s cross at that point came to nothing.
Just a minute later Inter’s Juan Jesus got away down the left with his cross just evading the head of the onrushing Mauro Icardi on the six-yard line.
But that was about as close as the Italian side came as Madrid took control, with Bale and Ronaldo at the heart of everything good.
On another day each might have claimed a first-half hat-trick in a rampant display. Bale first shot wide when set free by Ronaldo on the left and the Portuguese reproduced the Welshman’s wastefulness minutes later.
Chelsea test awaits Barcelona
Reigning European kings Barcelona and English Premier League champions Chelsea, each training in the first steps of defending their crowns, meet Tuesday in a pre-season friendly.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says evaluating talent and testing combinations is more important than winning.
“This is a match in which you are not obsessed with the result,” Mourinho said.
“You want to train. You make changes in the team because you have a plan for a certain amount of minutes,” he added.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique likes the idea of facing top-flight foes. “It’s important to see players in these types of games. They can show what they are able to do.” Enrique said.
( Source : AFP )
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