Roma have taken the opening honours in the International
Champions Cup, edging Real Madrid 7-6 on penalties after a stalemate at the
MCG.
Over 80,000 turned out for the occasion but booed the 0-0
result on full-time.
No one could find the net during regular time but they
couldn't miss in the shoot-out, roaring to a 5-5 scoreline and forcing sudden
death.
Roma's Seydou Keita scored the winner after goalkeeper
Morgan De Sanctis dived to his left to deny new Real Madrid man Lucas Vazquez
after 12 straight penalty goals.
Despite the wealth of footballing talent on the ground, none
found a regular path to goal in 90 minutes.
It became clear very quickly most in the bumper crowd had
come to see Cristiano Ronaldo, who enjoyed giant cheers whenever he touched the
ball.
Sadly for his adoring fans he played only a bit-part in the
friendly.
Ronaldo was outdone by fellow forwards Gareth Bale, Jese and
Norwegian wonder-kid Martin Odegaard in new coach Rafael Benitez's experimental
attack.
Roma enjoyed the best of an open first half without clear
cut chances.
Francesco Totti sparkled as Roma's creator in chief, while
Gervinho looked the most dangerous man on the ground with his direct, attacking
runs.
After four minutes, Daniele De Rossi found the crossbar from
a corner, with Totti unlucky not to score after fine footwork to gather the
rebound.
Real's best chance of the first-half fell to right-back
Carvajal, who belted a half-volley just high on 35 minutes.
Playing largely as a left winger, Ronaldo looked a
frustrated man without the ball and was wasteful with it.
He departed along with seven of his teammates at halftime,
with Roma making nine changes.
Much of the game's momentum left with the 17 substitutes.
Roma
substitute Juan Manuel Iturbe looked a likely spark but much of the crowd's
attention had turned to making paper planes.
While
Benitez criticised the state of the MCG pitch before the match, the quality on
it wasn't much better.
At the other
end, Karim Benzema gave Real a sharper attacking edge with Danilo and Vazquez
making their debuts for the Spanish giants.
With six minutes
remaining, De Sanctis' right foot denied Vazquez with the chance of the match -
with the same result in the shoot-out earning Roma the win.
Victorious
Roma manager Rudi Garcia said he noticed his players were up for the contest
before kick-off.
"I didn't
need to motivate my players when you play against such big teams, players are
already very motivated," he said through a translator.
"It is
important to win, even after a shoot-out."
Benitez said
his team were yet to hit full stride so early in pre-season.
"You
can't expect after five days (in Melbourne) to play with a high tempo.
"I
think it was a good game ... we were passing the ball sometimes really well and
after the last pass wasn't the best."
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