Arsenal 1-0 Real Madrid

An Emmanuel Adebayor penalty separated the two sides in the Emirates tournament as Spanish champions Real Madrid narrowly lost out to the home side in London…

In a game not short of physical action and energy, Arsenal kept their visitors’ attacking threat to a minimum while doing enough to secure the victory at the other end.

The Gunners started brightly, giving former Liverpool stopper Jerzy Dudek much to do in the early stages: Van Persie and Diaby tested him early on, but he was the equal on each occasion.

Madrid tried to fight back but the likes of Baptista were not at the races, and the lack of an out-and-out striker for the Spanish side saw most attacking moves countered in any case.

At the other end the impressive Walcott was in the thick of it, but strangely the best of the chances fell to Madrid right at the end of the half. Raúl was put through one-on-one, but the captain sclaffed his first touch and the chance was lost.

Minutes into the second half, though, the impressive Dudek was finally beaten, albeit from the penalty spot. Salgado was the offender as Van Persie went down under a light shove, and up stepped Adebayor to convert the spot-kick with deadly accuracy.

Madrid made three changes to their side and began to look slightly more active with Sneijder and Van Nistelrooy on the pitch, but Sneijder lasted mere minutes before being withdrawn after suffering from a poor tackle from Diaby.

The game began to fade out after that, although with ten minutes to go Wilshere once again showed his worth for the Gunners by setting up a beautiful chance for his fellow substitute, Bendtner. The Dane, though, failed to find the back of the net.

With this result Hamburg won the Emirates Cup as a whole with 7 points. Madrid finished second with five, while Arsenal and Juventus both ended up with four.

ARSENAL FC 1-0 REAL MADRID CF
1-0 Adebayor 49′ (pen.)

Arsenal: Almunia; Sagna, Senderos, Gallas (Djourou 89), Clichy; Walcott (Eboué 65), Denilson, Diaby (Ramsey 75), Nasri (Wilshere 75); Adebayor (Bendtner 75), Van Persie (Vela 65).

Real Madrid: Dudek; Salgado, Javi García, Heinze, Torres; Diarrà; Callejón (Robben 55), Guti, Baptista (Sneijder 55 (Parejo 61)); Robinho (Saviola 61), Raúl (Van Nistelrooy 55).

Yellow Cards: Eboué 82 - Guti 65

Referee: Mike Clattenburg (ENG)

Ref From goal.com

Real Madrid 2-1 Hamburger SV

Rising star Dani Parejo scored a late winner for Real Madrid in the opening game of the Emirates Cup…

It was a lively affair in London in which both sides had their chances, but the Spanish champions’ precision in front of goal proved the difference in the end.

They took the lead midway through the first half through Ruud van Nistelrooy, and then weathered a brief storm from the Germans to make it into half time with their lead in tact.

However, shortly after the break, freshly introduced substitute Mohamed Zidan drew things level with a fabulous strike.

The game then went back and forth for much of the remainder of the half, with Madrid making changes throughout and it was the final two substitutes who combined to produce the winner, with Juanmi Callejon crossing for Parejo to head home from point blank range.

Hamburg started the game full of energy, but it was Madrid who looked the more composed in possession. Despite being a yard short of pace compared to their opponents - who are further along in their pre-season - Madrid defended fairly comfortably throughout the opening minutes and in fact had the first opportunity of the game, with Raul doing well to put van Nistelrooy through on goal, but he could not lift his effort over the onrushing keeper.

However, his next opportunity was unmissable, as Arjen Robben ran down the left, floating a ball across the area for Guti on the right, whose attempted through ball was deflected and Nigel de Jong failed to deal with it, allowing Michel Salgado to barge through and drill a ball across the face of goal for van Nistelrooy to tap into an open goal.

Guerrero and Ivica Olic missed a number of chances between them for Hamburg, with the former heading wide from point blank range and also having an effort deflected wide of goal by Gabriel Heinze after a dreadful back pass from Michel Salgado.

After the break, one of former Tottenham Hotspur boss Martin Jol’s three changes paid immediate dividends, as a neat passing move around the Madrid area fell at the feet of Mohamed Zidan, who curled a beautiful shot into the top corner, in off the bar as a statuesque Madrid defence and goalkeeper looked on.

Madrid had a chance straight after the goal to put themselves back in the lead, as an adventurous Michel Salgado again found himself in the opposition area and his left-footed strike was deflected wide.

Though the likes of Mahamadou Diarra and Wesley Sneijder were looking sharp for the Spanish champions, their lack of fitness at the back in particular almost cost them as Hamburg had yet more chances to complete the comeback and take the lead.

However, despite having far more chances than their opponents, HSV could not keep the ball and Madrid continued to have control of the game that paid dividends late on. A short Robinho cameo wowed the Emirates crowd but it was two Castilla starlets who combined to produce the winning goal, with Callejon’s run and cross down the right hand side superb and Parejo’s header unstoppable.

Madrid gained five points for win (three and one for each goal), while Hamburg gained a solitary point for their goal scored.

Arsenal now play host to Juventus, with the Italian giants set to face Hamburg tomorrow and Madrid come up against Arsenal to conclude the tournament.

Ref From Fernando Montabon, Goal.com

Spain’s top flight contenders continued their pre-season preparations on Saturday with a host of friendly encounters that saw only Atlético, Villarreal, Athletic and Real Betis record wins.

Atlético de Madrid picked up their first pre-season victory as they eased past la Tercera outfit Alcalá 4-0 thanks to goals from Diego Costa, Cléber Santana, John Heitinga and Tomas Ujfalusi.

In Germany, Valencia were involved in an entertaining encounter as they were beaten 4-2 by Borussia Mönchengladbach in a game that saw the four visiting players that helped Spain win Euro 2008, given a standing ovation.

Candaian Rob Friend put the host side ahead and he added their third after Nikola Zigic had levelled for Los Ché and Gal Alberman had restored the Bundesliga team’s lead before the break.

With ten minutes remaining Juanma Mata pulled Valencia to within one goal of earning a draw, but Marko Marin neted a fourth for Mönchengladbach to ensure them of victory.

Joseba Llorente scored the winner in for Villarreal as they beat Real Zaragoza 2-1 in the Trofeo Ciudad de Teruel after Diego Milito levelled Diego Marín’s opener.

In London, Joseba Etxeberria gave Athletic Bilbao a 1-0 win against Charlton Athletic at the Valley in a game that saw Aritz Aduriz sent off with three minutes remaining.

Real Sociedad put their mounting financial problems behind them to proce that they are going to be strong contenders for promotion next term with a 1-0 win over Osasuna thanks to a goal from De Cerio.

Getafe were unable to find the net during a goalless encounter with Bundesliga side Nürnberg in Germany, while goals from Xisco, Juan Vivero and Babic gave Real Betis a 3-1 win against la Tercera side Coria.

Xisco, Juan Vivero and Babic all scored for Real Betis as they beat Tercera Division side Coria, while Segunda B outfit Marino held Sporting Gijón to a goaless draw and Cartagena drew 1-1 with Almería.

Real Madrid were also in action in the Emirates Cup against Hamburg.

Ref From Lucas Brown, Goal.com