The stands of the HK Stadium were cluttered one hour before the match started. In the first minutes, Raúl scored but the referee disallowed the goal although it should have opened the scored. Due to the narrowness of the field, the players had to play in a short distance of twenty metres which made more difficult to move the ball. But Zidane was there to distribute the play, giving everyone a lesson of how to do things well.

Ronaldo, Ronaldo
Sometimes, it seemed he is not even in the field, but once he appears, he becomes essential for the team. Before Ronaldo scored his second goal in this pre-season, and also the second goal for Real Madrid in this match, Figo had capitalised on a penalty to Roberto Carlos (6´). Ronaldo finished a spectacular move between Raúl and Zidane, after having wrongfooting the defender three times (12´). Real Madrid's superiority made decrease the pace of the game and gave Hong Kong squad more spaces to move.

Due to this fact, Real Madrid conceded its first goal in this pre-season. The local team scored its first goal as a consequence of a corner-kick headed by Wang (25´). The goal encouraged the red team that with the support of their fans created danger in the rival's area. The Whites had to react. Two minutes were enough to score again.

Raúl scored for the first time
David Beckham laid on an assistance to Ronaldo. The Brazilian player shot a beautiful volley and put the ball into the net overcoming An (33´) for the first time. One minute after, we could see again the same move we enjoyed in the Champion's League final in Glasgow. Roberto Carlos threw in a ball to Raúl, and he planted a shot past the goalkeeper, the first one he scored this year (34'). The difference in the score had a bad effect on Real Madrid that conceded the second goal after the Hong Kong Squad surged forward down the wing.

The second half had a better start for the Real Madrid players, who were much more concentrated in the match. There were many chances of scoring in the local goal area, the but the fifth goal did not arrive. Ronaldo and Raúl rattled the woodwork after two excellent solo efforts. Carlos Queiroz realised that the match was losing momentum and decided to use the substitutes. Morientes, Solari and Cambiasso gave a new life to the encounter. Guti, who had come on for Figo after the half time, left the left flank and played in the midfield, where he has a better performance. The changes had the expected effect for five minutes. The constant replacements ruined the final part of the game and only a personal move, nearly always made by Guti, could have changed the score. Portillo and Morientes had two chances of scoring goals. There was no time for more goals, but Real Madrid was constantly attacking the local goal area. The only flaw was that Real Madrid conceded goals for the first times since the beginning of the preseason in Asia. On Sunday, Real Madrid players will play in Bangkok, where they will close the first part of this season.

The match:
2 – HONG KONG SQUAD: An; Yau, Zhang, Chan, Luk; Cheung, Hao, Li, Leung, Lee; Wang y Yao Li. Szeto, Au, Kwok, Man, Luk, Tam, Lau, Cheung, Chan, Man, Chan Chi, Wong, Ho and Tam also played.
4 – REAL MADRID: Casillas; Míchel Salgado (Miñambres 75´), Roberto Carlos, Helguera (Raúl Bravo 84´), Pavón; Makelele (Cambiasso 67´), Zidane (Solari 67´), Figo (Guti 45´), Beckham (Beckham 75´); Raúl (Portillo 75´) and Ronaldo (Morientes 67´).
Goals:
0-1, min.6: Penalty on Roberto Carlos that was scored by Luis Figo.
0-2, min.12: Short pass from Zidane to Ronaldo who breaks away from the defender and overcome the keeper.
1-2, min.25: Wang heads the ball from a corner taken from the left.
1-3, min.33: Right service from Beckham to Ronaldo who scores the second goal out of a crossed shot.
1-4, min.34: Trademark play between Roberto Carlos and Raúl after a throw-in. The forward did not miss the goal.
2-4, min.45: Play from the left flank that was capped by Li
Referee: Fong Yau. There were no bookings
Other facts: Friendly matches included in the Real Madrid's Asian Tour. Hong Kong Stadium. 40,000 spectators cluttered the stadium. The tickets were sold off one week ago. The president, Florentino Pérez, watched the match from the royal box. There was a temperature of nearly 30º and a humidity of 85%. The national anthem of Hong Kong was played before the match.

Report: José L. Sánchez
Photos: Ángel Martínez
Special correspondents in Hong Kong (China)realmadrid.com