July 31, (THEWILL) – In their 2-0 friendly victory over Juventus, Real Madrid put on a terrific show for the 93,702 spectators at the sold-out Rose Bowl, completely outplaying the Italian team on every statistical metric.
The Spanish champions of Europe had the best possible start when they scored after just 14 seconds, but the offside flag ended the jubilation. Juventus was the next team to pose a threat, but Denis Zakaria’s attempt from the edge of the box in the 13th minute was stopped by the woodwork, keeping the score goalless.
Karim Benzema’s flawless conversion of a 19th-minute penalty, awarded to the Spanish side after striker Vinicius Junior was hacked down in the box from behind, gave Madrid a 1-0 lead, ensuring that the Madrid fans did not have to wait long for the lead.
There were no other goals until the 69th minute when Real substitutes proved to be the difference. Jesus Vallejo blasted the ball across the six-yard box following some difficult interplay and found Marco Asensio uncontested for the tap-in that doubled their lead.
Real had not won a game during this preseason tour of the United States; they had lost to FC Barcelona and drawn their other match against Club America before the fixture against Juventus. This was their first victory of the summer.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
