Michael Owen came off the
bench to set up Ronaldo for the only goal as Real Madrid scraped a 1-0
victory at Real Mallorca in their opening game of the Primera Liga
season on Sunday.
Owen, signed from Liverpool in a cut price deal to become the club's
latest galactico, replaced the injured Raul midway through the first
half and was instrumental in providing the winner seven minutes after
the break.
The England international collected the ball outside the area and ran at
the Mallorca defence before supplying a deft cross to the far post for
his Brazilian strike partner to chest in.
Real were otherwise unimpressive but their performance was just good
enough to give new coach Jose Antonio Camacho a positive start.
Barcelona, tipped as Real's most serious challengers for the title, were
playing away at Racing Santander in a later game on Sunday. Champions
Valencia host Villarreal on Monday. |