Real Madrid cruised to a 2-0 victory against Manchester United in a preseason friendly played in Houston on Wednesday. Jude Bellingham scored the first goal of his professional career for Real Madrid in the victory.
After just six minutes of play, English midfielder Bellingham opened his account with a magnificent strike to give Madrid the lead. Bellingham had moved to Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in June as part of a deal for 114 million euros.
Bellingham was put in position to shoot after Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger sent a perfectly weighted pass that surprised the United defense and brought Bellingham charging for the goal.
The young player, who is just 20, only needed one touch to get possession of the ball before lifting an exquisite chip over the advancing United goalkeeper Andre Onana to give Madrid a lead that was well earned.
Vinicius Jr., who hails from Brazil and plays for Real Madrid, had a chance to extend Madrid’s advantage immediately thereafter but botched his attempt from eight yards out, which allowed United to escape punishment.
Marcus Rashford came close to tying the game for United after 36 minutes of play, but he was unable to score from a difficult angle due to the angle of the shot. United came close to tying the game.
United’s displeasure reached a boiling point just before halftime when Madrid’s Lisandro Martinez made a reckless tackle on Bellingham. At that point, Madrid was in control of the match. Martinez was given a booking for his aggressive behavior against Bellingham, which prompted the latter’s angry response.
United seemed to be playing better after the interval as a flurry of substitutions were made throughout the half, but Madrid generated the better opportunities, with Militao nearly making it 2-0 on minute 69 but having his effort pushed off the line instead.
In the 89th minute, Madrid eventually put the game away when veteran striker Joselu scored a fantastic overhead kick to make the score 2-0. The goal was set up by a cross from Lucas Vazquez, who had previously played for Madrid.