David Beckham took just two minutes to score a goal in his Spanish league debut Saturday as Real Madrid kicked off its title defense with a hard-earned 2-1 win over Real Betis in the opening league match of the season.
Beckham clipped home a low cross from Brazilian ace Ronaldo from close range to net his second goal in three days and continue a fine start to his Madrid career.
PHOTO: AFP
On Wednesday, the star midfielder headed home in Madrid's 3-0 Spanish Supercup win over Mallorca on his first appearance for the Spanish powerhouse at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Then, too, the pass came from Ronaldo.
"It's probably the quickest goal I've ever scored," Beckham said. "So it's nice to do it here and on the first day of the season. Hopefully, Ronaldo will keep doing it for me and I'll keep doing it for him."
Ronaldo netted Madrid's game-winning goal in the 61st minute from a move begun by Beckham after Betis had drawn level through international defender Juanito Gutierrez during the first half.
Meanwhile, FC Barcelona, struggling to rebuild under a new president after a dismal season last year, beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0. New acquisition Ronaldinho showed flashes of good play but did not score. And Valencia, another traditional Spanish powerhouse seeking to fight back from a disappointing season, managed only a 1-1 draw against lowly Valladolid after trailing for much of the game.
Despite the boost of Beckham's third goal in his eight games for his new club, Madrid gave an uneven display as it successfully began its campaign to lift the title for a record 30th time.
"We suffered and it was all our fault," Real Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz said. "We had some fantastic moments and then we threw them away."
Queiroz said Beckham played in what he called two phases.
"In the first half he was very good at helping to construct the team's moves. In the second half he made more sacrifices. He played more in the center of the field and helped to organize the team. He did well at this, too."
Beckham also implied that his final stages at Manchester United, who sold him to Madrid in June, were not ideal.
"This is the happiest I've been at this point in time for a year-and-a-half to two years," he said. "Now I'm glad. You have your ups and downs in life, but I'm glad to be over the worst."
On Saturday, Beckham was more involved than in his two previous games for Madrid in Spain. He also hit the crossbar and drew applause from the 65,000 spectators in the stadium with his swerving crosses from the right.
But Madrid, which has been seeking a defensive reinforcement before Sunday's transfer deadline, lost the lead Beckham had provided when its back four suddenly lapsed into slackness.
In the 28th minute, the champions allowed Argentine striker Martin Palermo the freedom to meet Brazilian midfielder Marcos Assuncao's floated free kick with his head. Fortunately for the home team, Palermo, who arrived from Villarreal last week, headed onto the bar. Six minutes later, Madrid was not so lucky as Juanito beat Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso to the ball and nodded home the equalizer from Assuncao's corner.
After a quiet spell, Beckham burst back into life in the 52nd minute by unleashing a fierce shot from outside the area which rattled the Betis crossbar. Following up, French midfielder Zinedine Zidane hit the post.
The action spurred Madrid into life and it restored its lead in style nine minutes later. Beckham floated a pass upfield to Zidane, who was lurking on the left, and the Frenchman delivered a swift cross for Ronaldo to power the ball home with a volley. Betis battled back in a vain search of an equalizer, with Madrid's outstanding goalkeeper Iker Casillas forced to make two saves from Spanish international winger Joaquin Sanchez.
In Bilbao, FC Barcelona's Phillip Cocu headed in a pass from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, transferred on loan this week from Arsenal, in the 12th minute to win 1-0 against Athletic Bilbao. But Barcelona played rather poorly and the Basque side missed a lot of scoring opportunities.
Valencia fell behind in the 24th minute as Valladolid's Francisco David Sousa outran several defenders and dodged goalkeeper Santi Canizares to make it 1-0.
Valencia equalized in the 77th minute on a goal by Pablo Aimar as 'keeper Albano Bizzari dove and only managed to deflect a ball he could have stopped. After the game some Valencia fans whistled in disgust with their team.
Espanyol fought to a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad -- the dark horse which led the Spanish league for much of last year only to lose the title on the last day of the season.
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