Beckham and Owen shine as Real run riot

Real Madrid 5 - Levante

Real Madrid produced a spectacular exhibition of devastating finishing to claim a 5-0 win over Levante at the Bernabeu last night, with England team-mates David Beckham and Michael Owen scoring two excellent goals.

Surprising as it may seem, Real had stuttered their way through the first half as their modest opponents took the initiative from the start and if it had not been for some fine stops from the goalkeeper Iker Casillas they would have found themselves trailing after the first 30 minutes. But they racked up four of their goals in just 12 minutes, to leave a shell-shocked Levante no chance to respond.

With Zinedine Zidane missing through a back injury, the Real coach, Mariano Garcia Remon, opted to reshuffle his midfield, switching Beckham on to the right, Luis Figo to the left and bringing Albert Celades into the middle.

The move appeared to give Guti more space in the centre, but Real still struggled to manufacture any clear chances on goal in the opening minutes, and the closest they came was when Beckham sent a left-foot curler a metre over the bar.

Casillas was pressed into action on the half hour when he did well to beat away a snap shot from Nacho after the former Leeds United defender and Garcia had combined well on the left. The notoriously fickle Bernabeu crowd responded with some irate jeers, but it took just one moment of class for their side to take the lead two minutes before the break.

Beckham wafted a perfectly weighted pass on to the edge of the area, Ronaldo controlled with his chest, shook off the attentions of a defender and then fired in at the near post with his toe to put Real ahead.

Luis Figo made it 2-0 when he let fly from 30 metres out and Bernd Schuster's side barely had time to draw breath when Ronaldo hit them again, this time slotting home from 10 metres out.

Beckham delivered another blow three minutes later when he checked past Swiss midfielder Fabio Celestini, switched the ball to his right foot and then unleashed an unstoppable 30-metre strike that fizzed past keeper Juan Luis Mora and into the far corner. It was the England captain's third goal at the Bernabeu this season and signalled his return to form after a disappointing couple of months in the Spanish capital.

England team-mate Michael Owen, who had come on in place of Raul 22 minutes from time, grabbed his fifth of the season when he steered the ball in after a brilliant piece of play from the outstanding Guti.

Goals: Ronaldo (42) 1-0; Figo (49) 2-0; Ronaldo (51) 3-0; Beckham (54) 4-0; Owen (87) 5-0.

Real Madrid (4-4-2): Casillas; Salgado, Helguera, Samuel, Roberto Carlos; Beckham, Guti, Celades ( Javi Garcia, 76), Figo (Solari, 63); Raul (Owen, 68), Ronaldo. Subsitutes not used: Sanchez Cesar, Pavon, Morientes.

Levante (4-4-2): Mora; Pinillos, Alexis, Jesule, Culebras; Harte, Juanma (Ettien, 63), Celestini, Rivera; Nacho, Garcia (Congo, 63). Substitutes not used: Aizpurua, Rubiales, Camacho, Jofre, Manchev.

Referee: J Turienzo Alvarez.

Booked: Madrid: Helguera, Celades, Figo, Guti Beckham. Levante: Rivera, Mora.

Attendance: 50,000.