Cristiano Ronaldo gave fans at the first football match ever at Dodger Stadium what they wanted on Saturday, scoring one goal and aiding another in Real Madrid’s 2-1 friendly win over Everton. More then 40,000 spectators turned out at the 51-year-old baseball stadium nestled in Los Angeles’ Chavez Ravine and the first football goal in the venue’s history went to one of the game’s greats when Ronaldo scored in the 17th minute.
He had chipped a volley from the center of the area over the crossbar in the 10th, but made no mistake on his next chance, when a crisp ball from Mesut Ozil brought Everton keeper Tim Howard out of his goal and Ronaldo got round him to slide an angled shot into the open net.
Ozil doubled Real Madrid’s lead in the 31st minute after taking a pass from Ronaldo.
The Spanish side’s second goal came a minute after Sylvain Distin appeared to score on a header for Everton, but the goal was disallowed because of a foul. Everton also saw a golden opportunity go begging in the 24th, when Marouane Fellaini’s header off a corner kick ricocheted off the right post. Second-half substitute Nikica Jelavic scored in the 61st minute for Everton, but the English club were unable to find an equalizer even as they began to play more confidently in the closing stages.
Arsenal draw 2-2 with Napoli in Emirates Cup
Laurent Koscielny’s late header salvaged a 2-2 draw for Arsenal in their Emirates Cup clash with Napoli, but the Gunners’ inconsistent performance will have strengthened Arsene Wenger’s desire to improve his squad.
Wenger has so far failed to land any of his main transfer targets, including Liverpool forward Luis Suarez, and the
frailties shown by a familiar looking line-up as the home side fell behind to first half goals from Lorenzo Insigne and Goran Pandev provided cause for concern.
To make matters worse, Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski saw a penalty saved in the opening 45 minutes of the four-team pre-season tournament. But Gunners boss Wenger could at least draw comfort from a much improved second half display that was capped by Olivier Giroud’s goal and then Koscielny’s equaliser in the final minutes.
Gonzalo Higuain’s presence in Napoli served as a reminder of Arsenal’s failure to recruit him during the close season with the former Real Madrid striker opting for a move to Italy ahead of a switch to the Emirates Stadium. Wenger’s focus has since switched to Suarez, but while a forward has been his priority, the way his defence performed in the first half served as a reminder of weaknesses elsewhere in his squad.
He had chipped a volley from the center of the area over the crossbar in the 10th, but made no mistake on his next chance, when a crisp ball from Mesut Ozil brought Everton keeper Tim Howard out of his goal and Ronaldo got round him to slide an angled shot into the open net.
Ozil doubled Real Madrid’s lead in the 31st minute after taking a pass from Ronaldo.
The Spanish side’s second goal came a minute after Sylvain Distin appeared to score on a header for Everton, but the goal was disallowed because of a foul. Everton also saw a golden opportunity go begging in the 24th, when Marouane Fellaini’s header off a corner kick ricocheted off the right post. Second-half substitute Nikica Jelavic scored in the 61st minute for Everton, but the English club were unable to find an equalizer even as they began to play more confidently in the closing stages.
Arsenal draw 2-2 with Napoli in Emirates Cup
Laurent Koscielny’s late header salvaged a 2-2 draw for Arsenal in their Emirates Cup clash with Napoli, but the Gunners’ inconsistent performance will have strengthened Arsene Wenger’s desire to improve his squad.
Wenger has so far failed to land any of his main transfer targets, including Liverpool forward Luis Suarez, and the
frailties shown by a familiar looking line-up as the home side fell behind to first half goals from Lorenzo Insigne and Goran Pandev provided cause for concern.
To make matters worse, Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski saw a penalty saved in the opening 45 minutes of the four-team pre-season tournament. But Gunners boss Wenger could at least draw comfort from a much improved second half display that was capped by Olivier Giroud’s goal and then Koscielny’s equaliser in the final minutes.
Gonzalo Higuain’s presence in Napoli served as a reminder of Arsenal’s failure to recruit him during the close season with the former Real Madrid striker opting for a move to Italy ahead of a switch to the Emirates Stadium. Wenger’s focus has since switched to Suarez, but while a forward has been his priority, the way his defence performed in the first half served as a reminder of weaknesses elsewhere in his squad.