Madrid needs penalties to beat MLS

CHICAGO If Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane makes his team write essays about they spent their summer vacation, at least the ending will be a happy one.

After a 1-1 tie to end regulation, the visitors finally shook free from a determined MLS All-Star side, 4-2, in a penalty shootout Wednesday night when Marcelo’s kick skidded low right and past diving goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

Real made all four of its tries in the round. Both Dom Dwyer and Giovani Do Santos, the first two shooters sent out by MLS, were stopped by Real goalkeeper Luca Zidane (the coach’s son) and the crossbar, respectively.

Madrid took a 1-0 lead just inside the hour mark, after a clever through pass from Real’s Dani Ceballos sent Borja Mayoral in alone against Frei. Mayoral’s right-footed shot barely beat a sliding tackle from MLS defender Dax McCarty before eluding Frei’s dive to his left.

The All-Stars drew level in the 89th minute on a sequence that resembled a pinball game. McCarty headed a corner from Diego Valeri that bounced low off the right post and then hit teammate Kellyn Acosta. Dwyer, who’s made a splash during his brief tenure with the U.S. national team, came through the crowd in front of the net and his header from close-in tied the game.

The match came at the end of Real Madrid’s summer tour and as expected, Zidane reached deep into his bench to begin the game. Without Cristiano Ronaldo, who did not make the tour, only four other players who started in the team’s Champions League final win were in the starting lineup.