MUNICH, Sporting Alert – Goals from Gareth Bale and James Rodríguez piloted Real Madrid to a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the 2015 Audi Cup semi-final at Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
Real Madrid will now face the winner of the later clash between defending champions Bayern Munich and AC Milan.
Colombian playmaker Rodríguez opened the scoring for the Spanish giants in the 36th minute when he neatly guided home a cross from Isco.
Picking up a pass down the left side, Isco delivered a smart cross inside the 18-yard area for Rodríguez to beat his marker to the ball and placed his header away from Michel Vorn, who was well off his line.
The goal gave Real Madrid a 1-0 lead going into the halftime break and that stood until Bale scored a stunning strike from outside the box to double the lead against his former club.
Bale, slipping inside and playing a more central role in the attack, picked up a ball in the middle of the Tottenham half where he drove past a defender before unleashing a super strike that dipped just in front of Vorm and found its way in the back of the net.
Prior to scoring his goal though, it had been a very quiet outing for the former Tottenham forward, who was playing without Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema by his side after the pair were left out for fitness reasons.
Bale was eventually substituted after the 82nd minute.
With today’s 2-0 victory, Real Madrid have continued its impressive defensive record in preseason – allowing just one goal so far this summer.
Teams
Real Madrid: 13 Kiko Casilla 4 Sergio Ramos 12 Marcelo 23 Danilo 2 R. Varane 19 L. Modrić 11 G. Bale 8 T. Kroos 10 J. Rodríguez 22 Isco 20 Jesé. Subs: 15 Daniel Carvajal41 M. Ødegaard14 Casemiro30 Rubén Yáñez24 Illarramendi27 Marco Asensio29 Borja Mayoral1 K. Navas3 Pepe17 Arbeloa6 Nacho18 Lucas Vázquez21 D. Cheryshev.
Tottenham: 13 M. Vorm 3 D. Rose 2 K. Walker 4 T. Alderweireld 27 K. Wimmer 15 E. Dier 19 M. Dembélé 11 E. Lamela 23 C. Eriksen 20 D. Alli 18 H. Kane. Subs: 21 F. Fazio44 H. Winks22 N. Chadli47 J. Onomah38 R. Mason16 K.Trippier28 T. Carroll33 B. Davies5 J. Vertonghen42 N. Bentaleb48 L. McGee.
