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Beckham bends it to score first goal for Real
August 05, 2003 18:37 IST
David Beckham scored in his second game for Real Madrid on Tuesday as the Spanish champions beat Japanese side FC Tokyo 3-0 in a monsoon shower to make it two wins out of two on their pre-season tour of the Far East.
England captain Beckham, who completed his move to the Spanish champions for just under $40 million on July 2, opened his account in the 38th minute, curling a brilliant free-kick into the far corner from 25 metres after a trip on Santiago Solari.
The sell-out crowd of 54,000 in Tokyo, hushed with anticipation as Beckham retreated for his run-up, exploded as the ball crashed into the back of the net after he curled it from the left of the box to the opposite top corner.
Argentine midfielder Solari added a second from an acute angle just before half-time after goalkeeper Yochi Doi had saved from Javier Portillo with Real beginning to exploit gaps in the Tokyo defence.
Substitute Ronaldo made it 3-0 in the 89th minute with a mesmerising step-over and shot from the edge of the box as Real finished in style.
Beckham had been booked after nine minutes for a professional foul and striker Raul went close with a dipping header in an incident-filled opening.
The England skipper tested Doi with another free-kick in the 20th minute and then released Raul with a superb right-wing cross but the Spain striker slipped on the wet pitch and allowed the ball to ricochet off his heel.
Midfielder Beckham, playing in more of a central role than in the 4-0 win over a Chinese select team in Beijing on Saturday, was even more instrumental after the break in the absence of injured playmaker Zinedine Zidane.
One clever through-ball from the England midfielder to Ronaldo in the 65th minute led to Raul bringing another sharp save from Doi.
Three minutes later, Ronaldo found space with a typical burst of speed but his low left-foot shot came back off the post.