Real Madrid claimed victory for a second time during their pre-season U.S. tour on Saturday in the International Champions Cup as they beat Everton 2-1 at Los Angeles’s Dodger Stadium.
Madrid’s talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, opened the scoring, in what was the first soccer game to be held at the baseball park, and the Portuguese provided the assist for the second.
Ronaldo scored in the 17th minute off Mesut Ozil’s assist and then returned the favour as he set-up Ozil to score 14 minutes later.
FIFA, soccer’s international governing body named Ronaldo the World Player of the Year in 2008.
Substitute Nikica Jelavic scored in the 61st minute for Everton, who finished sixth in the English Premier League last season. Real Madrid were the runners-up in Spain’s La Liga.
The victory was the second in two tournament games for Real Madrid, who advanced to the championship game, which will be played Wednesday (August 7) at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
After the game, Real Madrid’s players and coach Carlo Ancelotti kept quiiet on the possible transfer of winger Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur.
Ancelotti revealed during a news conference at Real’s training camp in Los Angeles on Wednesday (J that they were in talks with Spurs to buy Bale amid speculation the Welsh player was poised to move to Spain for a world record fee.
Ancelotti, when questioned by Reuters after the game about Bale’s possible transfer, tossed a baseball in his hand and said “I am going to play baseball.”
Media in Spain and England have reported that Real are prepared to offer a world-record fee of more than 85 million pounds ($129.82 million) for the English Footballer of the Year.
That would eclipse the fee of about $125 million that the world’s richest club by income agreed to pay Manchester United for Ronaldo in 2009.