Cristiano Ronaldo struggled in his first match for Real Madrid, missing two free kicks in a preseason friendly against Shamrock Rovers before a late strike from Karim Benzema gave the visitors a 1-0 win. The Dublin club of part-time footballers held Real Madrid's starters at bay through the first half Monday in front of a sellout crowd of 10,800 at Tallaght Stadium. Ronaldo, the world's most expensive player, struck one free kick wide right and the other straight into a wall of Rovers players. He also had a shot wide before being substituted at halftime. Benzema scored the winner in the 87th. Owen on target again Michael Owen scored for the second time in two matches to help give Manchester United a 2-0 win Monday over a Malaysian XI on its Asian preseason tour. The Premier League champion narrowly edged the Malaysian team 3-2 Saturday, but delivered a more commanding performance in the rematch in front of 30,000 fans in Kuala Lumpur. With Owen and Ryan Giggs in the starting lineup and Wayne Rooney on the bench, there seemed to be more urgency to United's game as it kept using the flanks to open up the Malaysian defense. United took an early lead in the 10th minute when winger Darren Fletcher played the ball back to the waiting Federico Macheda, who easily slotted into the net. Just two minutes later, Owen capitalized on a hesitant Malaysian defense for his second goal of the tour. Owen came close to scoring again in the 60th, but his effort came off the post. United seemed content to protect its lead, and Malaysia failed to convert its chances in the second half. Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov came on to increase United's pace in attack, and the England striker almost scored from a cross in the 68th. The Red Devils decided to play against Malaysia again after canceling a planned match in Indonesia in the wake of Friday's bomb attack on the Jakarta hotel where they were due to stay. They will depart Wednesday for the next leg of their Asia tour in Seoul and then on to China.
