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Michael Owen
scored an early goal and goalkeeper Iker Casillas made an acrobatic save to
lead Real Madrid to a 2-0 exhibition victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on
Monday in front of a sellout crowd of more than 27,000.
Roberto Soldado
also scored to help give Real Madrid a 2-0 record in its preseason six-game
tour of North
America
and Asia.
``That's one
of the top five clubs in the world,'' Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman said. ``Obviously,
it was a humbling experience.''
Real Madrid, known as the Galacticos
for its roster of international stars, spent nearly $250 million in transfer
fees to acquire players such as Owen, France's Zinedine Zidane, England's David Beckham and Brazil's Ronaldo.
Owen, Zidane,
Beckham, Roberto Carlos and Raul Gonzalez all started, with Beckham receiving
the loudest reception as the starting lineup was introduced. Ronaldo dressed
for the game but did not play.
``You see
what money buys: excellent players,'' Hartman said. ``Zidane is the most impressive
thing I've seen. He holds the ball extremely well and he sees things that
most people don't.''
Owen, who
played for England in the past two World
Cups, combined with Zidane to score in the sixth minute.
Jose Maria
Gutierrez passed to Zidane, who executed a give-and-go with Owen. Once Zidane
got the ball back, Owen ran behind Galaxy defender Ugo Ihemelu toward the
right side of the penalty area.
``I think he
was going to score,'' Owen said of Zidane. ``But I think one of their
defenders was going to block it. So he turned and I made a run on the blind
side of (Ihemelu).''
An unmarked
Owen received Zidane's pass, drew Hartman away from the net and scored on a
diagonal shot from 8 yards inside the left post.
Casillas, Spain's starting goalkeeper
in the 2002 World Cup, preserved the lead by leaping in front of the left
post to catch Jovan Kirovski's 31-yard free kick in the 52nd minute.
Soldado, who
entered the game in the 70th minute, ended the scoring in the 75th minute with
a 21-yard shot inside the left post.
The Galaxy
played without leading scorer Landon Donovan, who will play for the United States in the CONCACAF Gold
Cup semifinals Thursday night.
``I thought
they played very well,'' Owen said of the Galaxy. ``It's not easy to play
against a team of Real Madrid's quality. In a couple of years, maybe we'll
come back and it'll be difficult for us.''
Real Madrid will continue its
tour with a match in Beijing on Saturday. The club will then play twice in Japan and once in Thailand.
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