It was a spirited evening in Miami where Real Madrid faced off against Chelsea for the Guinness International Champions Cup Final before a crowd of more than 67,000 soccer enthusiasts. The tensions were high between the two teams in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s departure from Real Madrid just two months earlier. The Portuguese manager left the Spaniard team after 3 years to manage Chelsea.
The teams faced off just a few days after a comment by Mourinho that he had coached the “real Ronaldo, not this one” referring to Brazilian forward, Ronaldo. While Cristiano Ronaldo politely declined to comment on the statement, his play in Wednesday evening’s matchup seemed to state his response.
The game started out with quick goals by both teams. In the 14th minute, it was Real Madrid’s Marcelo Viera with the first goal. After kicking the ball through the legs of Gary Cahill, Viera took a shot on goal that skipped past Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Petr Cech.
Chelsea, though, was quick to respond. Just two and half minutes later, Ramires responded by chipping a ball from just outside the penalty spot over Iker Casillas to even the score 1-1.
By the 28th minute, Real Madrid had outshot Chelsea 7-2. Their push paid off in the 31st minute when Ronaldo was able to convert on a foul, 25 yards from the goal. The charged Ronaldo turned to the bench, pointing to his chest with both hands.
Despite a strong start to the second half, Real Madrid maintained and increased its lead throughout the second half. Ronaldo, again, delighted the crowd in the 57th minute, heading the ball in to the goal off a cross from “Isco” Alcaron.
After the game, Ronaldo commented, “I think we played fantastic. I just tried to help my team, and score goals.” Still declining to comment about Mourinho’s remarks, Ronaldo indicated that his gesture was unrelated. “I don’t care. I just go to my teammates on the bench. I don’t care about the other people.”
To close out the tournament, AC Milan defeated LA Galaxy 2-0 in the Sun Life Stadium in Miami Garden to secure the third place spot in the Cup.
