La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid finally secured their first victory in their preseason tour after beating MLS All-Stars 4-2 in a penalty-shoot out. The match had ended 1-1 in normal time at Chicago’s Soldier Field, on Wednesday night. Previously, Los Merengues lost to Manchester City, Manchester United, and arch-rival Barcelona on their US tour.
MLS All-Stars squads consist of star players voted for by fans. The 2017 edition included Chicago Fire’s Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco, and former Real Madrid forward Kaka as well as New York City’s David Villa. The team was coached by Chicago Fire’s Veljiko Paunovic.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid’s manager Zinedine Zidane brought most of his youngsters to play in what turned out to be a sold-out friendly match. The 45-year-old football legend gave an opportunity to new signings Theo Hernandez and Dani Ceballos, as well as new hopeful Borja Mayoral, who scored the opening goal.
The most interesting player to watch was Luca Zidane, the son of Los Blancos’ coach. The 19-year-old goalkeeper became the hero by saving the first penalty by Dom Dwyer.
This friendly match was seen as a reunion for some players. Schweinsteiger met again with his former Bayern Munchen and German national team colleague Toni Kroos who joined Real Madrid in July 2014. Both stars were seen talking to each other during the half-time break.
Brazilian midfielder Kaka was also excited to meet with his former teammates in the Spanish capital giants.
“It is something very emotional. To take on staff at the club and ex-team-mates of Real Madrid will be a very different experience for me”, the Orlando City midfielder said as quoted by Skysports before the match.
Surrounded by the packed crowd, Dom Dwyer told Fox Sports:
"It was a great atmosphere. It shows how much the game’s grown here in this country."
Soccer is indeed on the rise in the United States and although the MLS All-Star lost on the night, they won both the hearts of the locals and a valuable experience. Meanwhile, Real Madrid will face Europa League winners Manchester United in the UEFA Super Cup on August 8, 2017, in Skopje, Macedonia.
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