Real Madrid vs Roma. International Champions Cup.
Melbourne Cricket GroundAttendance80,746.
Roma win 7-6 on penalties.
Saturday 18 July 2015 12:49, UK
Roma beat Real Madrid on penalties after a goalless draw in their International Champions Cup clash in Melbourne on Saturday.
Neither side could be separated over normal time as Daniele De Rossi hit the crossbar for Roma, while Lucas Vazquez went closest for Rafa Benitez’s side, only to see his low effort turned away by the goalkeeper.
It wasn’t until sudden death in the shoot-out that the decisive moment came, as Morgan De Sanctis guessed correctly to turn away Lucas’ low penalty.
Former Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita stepped up to coolly dispatch the winning penalty and see off Real to win the tie for Roma.
Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo both started, while Martin Odegaard was also named in the starting XI, but it was Roma who had the better of things in the first half, and De Rossi fired onto the bar from close range before Francesco Totti’s low shot was cleared.
A raft of changes came in the second half and Real settled in more quickly, enjoying much more possession but still unable to fashion any good openings.
It wasn’t until late on that Karim Benzema played in Lucas, who did really well to turn his man inside the area, but his left-footed shot was well saved by De Sanctis with his legs.
Debutant Danilo – who has joined from Porto this summer – then fired a curling effort just around the post, but the game was destined for spot kicks, which resulted in victory for Rudi Garcia’s men.
Next up for Roma is a clash with Manchester City on Tuesday, who in turn play Real Madrid on Friday.
