David Beckham received a rapturous reception as he made his Real Madrid debut in their 4-0 victory over the China Dragon select team.

Luis Figo, Fernando Morientes (twice) and Javier Portillo scored the goals for the Spanish champions in one of the most widely watched sporting spectacles to be staged in China.

Hundreds of millions of people had access to the match via Chinese state broadcaster CCTV and millions more in Asia and Europe tuned in to watch England captain Beckham's debut alongside the rest of Real's dream team.

Some 65,000 fans waved five-starred Chinese flags and roared on their compatriots every time they broke down Real's attacks and countered.

But the soccer-smitten crowd, many clad in white Real jerseys, reserved gasps of anticipation and shrieks of excitement for the moments when playmakers Beckham and Frenchman Zinedine Zidane had the ball.

Beckham, signed from Manchester United for 35 million euro on July 1, was marked tightly by Chinese international defender Li Weifeng.

He produced a series of quick passes to prompt early attacks but the Chinese defence quickly smothered the danger on each occasion.

FIGO MOVED

The England captain's brightest moment came in the 20th minute when he curled a trademark free-kick towards the top corner only for goalkeeper Sun Gang to punch the ball away at the last moment.

Beckham arrowed another free-kick just wide of the post in the 35th minute and also produced a string of accurate long-range passes.

He was eventually substituted to loud cheers from the adoring fans after 75 minutes, clapping hands above his head in appreciation.

Real opened the scoring in the 40th minute when Portuguese winger Figo, moved to the left flank by new coach Carlos Queiroz to accommodate Beckham on the right, touched the ball past goalkeeper Sun from a neat pass by Ronaldo.

Real's fringe players embellished the scoreline with three late goals in the second half.

Morientes enhanced his claim for a first-team place when he scored Real's second from a rebound in the 74th minute after replacement goalkeeper Jiang Jin could not hold a Roberto Carlos thunderbolt.

Morientes then cleverly dummied the goalkeeper and the Chinese defence before firing high into the net to make it 3-0 after 85 minutes. Three minutes later Portillo stabbed home the fourth.

Feisty Chinese striker Li Yi created a series of chances for the China Dragon team but failed to get a clear shot on goal. He caught Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas far out of position in the 30th minute but lobbed the ball wide of the goal.

Real's defence, criticised for lacking experience after the departure of former captain Fernando Hierro, looked slightly disorganised in the first half.

The game was the first of four pre-season friendlies on Real's much-hyped promotional tour in the Far East