Real Madrid was victorious in the opener of
its U.S. tour, but it wasn't the stars that that led the charge.
Substitutes Alvaro Mejia, Guti and Roberto Soldado each scored in the
final 22 minutes as Real rallied to record a 3-1 triumph over CD Chivas
Guadalajara at Soldier Field.
The team known for having "Galacticos" like David Beckham, Ronaldo,
Zinedine Zidane and Michael Owen did not seem to display intensity until
the latter stages of the match after many of the star players had been
removed.
Chivas broke a scoreless deadlock in the 72nd minute when Francisco
Palencia received a short cross in the six-yard box from Jhonny Garcia
and beat goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who got a piece of the ball.
Playing for the second time in America after making a trip to the U.S.
with the English national team last month, Beckham wowed the crowd of
54,432 with a 78th-minute free kick that found the head of Mejia, who
redirected the ball into the net for the equalizer.
Casillas kept the game tied with a marvelous diving save on a blast from
Adolfo Bautista while preventing Edwin Borboa from slotting the rebound
in the 81st minute.
The tie was broken seven minutes later when Soldado headed a beautiful
pass to Guti, who blasted a left-footed shot past a diving Alfredo
Talazara. Soldado sealed the win with a strike with an injury-time score. |