Los Angeles: Gareth Bale continued his superb pre-season form in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over AS Roma here Tuesday in the International Champions Cup.
Los Blancos have been making progress under new boss Julen Lopetegui in pre-season, despite the Spaniard having to deal with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit and non-stop speculation that more big names could leave the club in this transfer window.
Bale seems to be relishing being the team’s focal point, and it was the Welshman who inspired his team’s first goal. After just two minutes, he picked the ball up on the right-hand side of the field and played a superb lobbed through-ball to Marco Asensio with the outside of his left foot. The 22-year-old calmly finished past shot-stopper Robin Olsen from a one-on-one situation to give Real the lead.
The provider then turned scorer in the 15th minute, when Bale got on the end of a sublime long-range pass from Dani Carvajal and converted with his left foot.
Lopetegui’s side continued to dominate possession for the rest of the first half and also for long periods in the second half.
The first 15 minutes of the second half were fairly eventless, until the introduction of Brazilian wonderkid Vinicius Junior sent a buzz around the stadium. The 18-year-old was involved straight away with a shot from the edge of the Roma area, but his strike sailed over the crossbar.
Roma pulled a goal back on 83 minutes through Dutchman Kevin Strootman.