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England not ready to win World Cup - Jones

Published in Rugby
Saturday, 24 August 2019 13:48

Coach Eddie Jones has warned his England team that they are not ready to win the World Cup despite a record 57-15 win over Ireland.

The victory was the biggest winning margin and highest number of points scored in matches between the two.

"Our aim is to be the best side in the world, it always has been," Jones told BBC Sport.

"Are we moving in the right direction? Yes. Are we ready to win the World Cup now? No."

After running in eight tries against Ireland, England have nearly two weeks before they play Italy in their final warm-up match on 6 September at St James' Park.

Jones said that he is focusing on improving on England's failure to get out of their pool at the 2015 tournament.

"The only thing we are worried about are [Pool C opponents] Tonga, USA, France and Argentina. We have to get through those games," he added.

"The World Cup is about taking each game at a time and that is our only focus. They are the only teams in our mind."

England's first World Cup match is against Tonga in Saporro on 22 September.

Jones said he was pleased by his players' intensity in their win over Ireland, who would have climbed to the top of the world rankings with victory.

However, he suggested that the scoreline might reflect their differing levels of preparedness for the World Cup rather than underlying quality. It was Ireland's second warm-up match while England have now played three.

"This was a performance for the 80 minutes but we don't know where Ireland are in their preparation so it can be misleading," he added.

Wing Joe Cokanasiga scored two tries, his fourth and fifth in just seven Tests, after putting in an indifferent performance against Wales a week ago.

"It is important for young players to do that," said Jones.

"If they have a bad game they learn, they have to make sure they bounce back in the next game. He did that and used his strengths really well."

Kirkwood Won’t Be Denied In Indy Pro 2000

Published in Racing
Saturday, 24 August 2019 15:34

MADISON, Ill. – Kyle Kirkwood stormed from the rear of the field to win Saturday’s Indy Pro 2000 Championship event at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Sweden’s Rasmus Lindh captured his fourth pole position of the season, setting a track record at the 1.25-mile oval in the process, while Kirkwood saw his qualifying run disallowed due to a technical infraction. Kirkwood started shotgun in the 12-car field as a result.

The opening laps saw side-by-side racing with three lead changes before the Kirkwood freight train charged to the front to take the top spot on lap seven while Lindh found himself shuffled back to fourth behind Moises de la Vara and Kory Enders. As battles continued throughout the field, Kirkwood and Enders briefly checked out with a 3.5-plus second lead over the field by lap 25.

The first and only caution came on lap 40 when Lindh, who had been stalking de la Vara, was able to find a way past. The pair made slight contact which sent de la Vara spinning and into the turn three wall. He was uninjured in the crash.

The green flag waved once again on lap 48 with seven to go. While Kirkwood took off into the lead, Enders had his hands full with a charging Lindh and the riveting battle continued until the final dash to the checkers with Lindh completing the last lap pass just before the finish line.

“It was just disbelief when I saw the checkers. My team was just screaming on the radio, half in Italian, half in English,” Kirkwood said. “I was going to be happy with a top five, top three was optimistic, going into the race. It was incredible to come through the field like that. I don’t remember half the passes I made; I was in the zone, just pushing as hard as I could to get to the front, and it gave me chills once I got into the lead.

“We set the car up to be fast right away, because we knew that’s where we would be able to pass. The car wasn’t ideal once we got to the lead, because we never thought about being out front the whole time. But we had to go for it; we’re behind in the championship – and we almost came away with the lead. We needed to do that and I wanted to redeem my team, with the mistake we made yesterday. This should get my engineer, Stefano, some sleep tonight because he was really down last night. I am so thankful to everyone on the team.”

Enders had to settle for third – his best result to date this season while setting the fastest lap of the race in the process – followed by Danial Frost of Exclusive Autosport, who brought home his eighth top-four finish of the year, and Sting Ray Robb rounding out the top five.

Gerloff Continues MotoAmerica Hot Streak

Published in Racing
Saturday, 24 August 2019 16:08

WAMPUM, Pa. – Garrett Gerloff is on a roll.

The Texan rode his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing YZF-R1 to his third victory in the last five races on Saturday afternoon in the Championship of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh Int’l Race Complex.

Gerloff came out on top of a race-long battle in the first of two EBC Brakes Superbike races with his teammate Cameron Beaubier, the three-time MotoAmerica Superbike champion ending up .326 of a second behind Gerloff at the end of the 18-lap race. Championship points leader Toni Elias finished third on the Yoshimura Suzuki, the Spaniard ending up three seconds behind the two Yamahas.

Gerloff had already proven to be the fastest of the fast this weekend as he led every session except for Superpole, which went to Beaubier with a new lap record of 1:39.472 around the 2.7-mile Pittsburgh Int’l Race Complex. Gerloff led early, pulled a slight gap and then gave it all back when he ran off the track in turn one on the fourth lap. But he was able to rebound, passing Elias and then battling with Beaubier for the duration.

With the two Yamahas finishing ahead of Elias, the championship tightened up. Elias now leads Beaubier by 30 points, 282-252, with Gerloff just a single point behind Beaubier.

“As soon as we pulled the bike off the truck, we had a pretty good setup,” Gerloff said. “Kind of funny – after the first session we decided to completely change the whole bike. Front end, triple clamps, front fork springs, rear shock, everything. It felt even better. So, it’s nice that we’ve kind of just been always making steps forward this weekend. The bike felt awesome in the race. I felt good on the first couple laps. Came around and saw my board with plus one. Looked back and just kind of got in a little hot, unfortunately. Just a fast straightaway. It’s got to be a little bit of a tailwind today, too.

“Luckily, I was able to keep it up on two wheels and get back on track behind these guys. Had to work to get back up to them and then was able to see what they were doing around the whole track. Then I was able to get past Toni (Elias). Was in behind Cameron (Beaubier) and knew I wanted to make a pass at some point. I found a spot and tried to lead a little bit. Then he got me back. It was fun dicing and racing. I just gave it everything I had the last couple laps to maybe try to pull a little bit of a gap or something. Just glad it worked out in the end. Life is good. I feel good. Ready for tomorrow. Try to do something similar.”

Beaubier was upbeat despite the close loss to his teammate, knowing that he’d chipped away on the gap to Elias at the top of the Superbike standings.

“I obviously wanted to win, but second is good,” Beaubier said. “Garrett has been riding really, really good this weekend. He set the pace all day yesterday and this morning also. Going into the race, I knew it was going to be pretty tough. Honestly, the race obviously didn’t pan out like I wanted to. I made a mistake on the last lap that kind of disconnected me from his rear wheel. I wasn’t close enough to make a lunge anywhere. I learned quite a bit behind him in the last section today and that’s where I was struggling pretty bad all weekend. So definitely some stuff to look out for tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. All in all, it was good. We closed up some points on Toni (Elias). We’re moving forward, so it was good.”

Elias finished third, with Scheibe Racing BMW’s Jake Gagne ending up fourth ahead of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz.

In Supersport, the 16-lap race was red-flagged when championship leader Bobby Fong highsided his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki out of the race. Fong was unable to make the 10-lap restart, and his teammate Sean Dylan Kelly got the jump on the field off the line. Kelly, who is a 17-year-old rookie in MotoAmerica, went on to notch his first career Supersport victory.

As to who would finish second and third, the outcome was very much in contention until Rickdiculous Racing Yamaha rider Hayden Gillim and Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha’s P.J. Jacobsen traded a little bit of paint on the run to the checkers. Jacobsen barely got the better of Gillim as the New Yorker got second over the Kentuckian.

In Saturday’s Liqui Moly Junior Cup race, current championship leader and polesitter Rocco Landers got the holeshot, cleared off at the front, and looked to be headed for his 10th win of the season until he slowed dramatically towards the end of the race and rolled to a stop off the track, his Kawasaki experiencing a technical issue that put him out of the 10-lap event.

Altus Motorsports Kawasaki rider Kevin Olmedo, who was poised in second place, inherited the lead and pressed his advantage all the way to the checkered flag to notch his first win of the season and second career victory in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup class.

In the first of two Twins Cup races scheduled for the weekend, 17-year-old Alex Dumas, aboard his Roadracing World Young Guns Suzuki, got his third victory of the season and his fifth straight trip to the podium, which vaulted him into the championship lead with five races left.

DQ Gifts Marcelli & Stacy VIR Trophy

Published in Racing
Saturday, 24 August 2019 17:01

DANVILLE, Va. – It was another unpredictable, one-lap shootout for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge on Saturday, but this time at Virginia Int’l Raceway during the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix.

With mixed weather conditions throughout the race and a series of full-course cautions in the final 30 minutes, the field took the green flag for one last sprint around the 3.27-mile circuit with just over two minutes remaining in the two-hour race.

Jesse Lazare in the No. 69 Motorsports In Action McLaren GT4 led the way and was trying to fend off a hard-charging Trent Hindman in the No. 7 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport for Park Place Motorsports, who had jumped from seventh to second in the final half-hour.

The two drove into turn four, but Hindman inched the nose of his Porsche a bit too deep on the inside, making contact with Lazare’s McLaren and causing him to spin.

While the No. 7 Porsche went on to cross the finish line first, a post-race penalty was assessed for incident responsibility, and the win was awarded to second place, the No. 60 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 of Kyle Marcelli and Nate Stacy.

“I was a bit surprised to see it go green, to be honest with you,” said Marcelli, who had an intense battle of his own with Lazare for the lead before the final caution. “I knew it was going to be high risk. You’re either going to come out a big winner or a big loser, so I was kind of in survival mode. I just wanted to bring it home and get a respectful result.

“At the end of the day, we crossed the line second. Sometimes you’ve just got to be there, that’s racing they say. You’ve got to go to the end until the checkered flag.”

The win is the first of the season for Marcelli and Stacy and the duo’s second podium after a runner-up finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July.

“It really came down to letting me know we were going to switch to rain tires and just kind of tough it out until we could get to a point where we could change and get to the pit stop,” added Stacy. “It was super tricky and one of those things where you have to tiptoe around and make the best of it.

“It was a crazy end of the race, but it couldn’t have gone any better, it was super awesome. Thanks to everyone at KohR and Ford Performance, it was great racing.”

After starting from the pole position following Friday’s canceled qualifying session due to weather, championship leaders Tyler McQuarrie and Jeff Westphal expanded their points lead with a second-place finish. They now lead Fergus and Lazare by 24 points, 230-206.

Sneaking onto the podium in third place was the No. 80 BimmerWorld Racing BMW M4 GT4 of Ari Balogh and Mike Skeen. The pair started sixth on the final restart but moved up to give Skeen his best finish to date, while Balogh matched his own previous best.

James Vance takes the checkered flag to win the TCR portion of Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race for himself and Nick Galante.

In the TCR class, FAST MD Racing drivers Nick Galante and James Vance secured their first victory of the season.

“We’ve been fast all year, but little mistakes just kept popping up, and I think we just ran out of mistakes to make,” Galante said. “The first four laps, I thought we made a wrong choice but then it slowly started to dry out and I started clicking off laps and started catching the leaders.”

Vance sat second behind Jonathan Morley in the No. 61 Roadshagger Racing Audi ahead of a final-lap sprint to the checkered flag. Vance ultimately made the move midway through the final lap to the inside of Morley who, with his co-driver Gavin Ernstone, was also seeking a first win in the series.

“At that point, I think my nerves were fried,” said Vance. “I thought, ‘Might as well go for it, we have a green-white checkered coming up.’”

The win was Galante’s ninth in the Pilot Challenge and was the first for Vance and the rookie IMSA team, FAST MD Racing.

“It feels great,” said Vance of his first Pilot Challenge win. “The series does an amazing job putting these events on. Racing with FAST MD, Speed Syndicate and Racing to End Alzheimer’s has been an absolute pleasure this year and I’m glad we could bring this to them. But I feel like we earned this. We should’ve been here a few times this year. We’ve just had some bad luck and I think today, everything that could go right went right and the little things that could go wrong didn’t.”

Relegated to second place, Morley found himself in the middle of a three-wide battle between the No. 21 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai of Mason Filippi and the No. 54 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi of Stephen Simpson. Contact between the three would force Morley off track and into the tire barrier, finishing eighth.

Filippi and co-driver Harry Gottsacker finished second – one race after their first win at Road America earlier this month – and closed the gap to just five points, 224-219, over teammates and championship leaders Michael Lewis and Mark Wilkins in the No. 98 Hyundai. Simpson and Michael Johnson finished third for their second podium finish of the season.

Sbirrazzuoli & Ruberti Master VIR Super Trofeo Go

Published in Racing
Saturday, 24 August 2019 17:09

ALTON, Va. – Cedric Sbirrazzuoli and Paolo Ruberti came out on top of a wet and wild Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America event Saturday at Virginia Int’l Raceway.

The race started under yellow due to wet conditions, and the 16-car field was on slick tires. These conditions were an advantage for the more experienced drivers in the field to navigate the 17-turn, 3.27-mile circuit.

A seven-minute caution period started the 50-minute race, before former Super Trofeo champion Shinya Michimi led the field to the green flag. He assumed the lead for the first few laps of the race.

He held the overall and Pro class lead for three laps before Richy Antinucci cut to the inside and passed him in turn one. The four-car Pro class was tightly spaced for the next few minutes of the race until Andrea Amici made contact with Michimi around turn 11. That allowed Cedric Sbirrazzouli, in the No. 27 Dream Racing/Lamborghini Dallas entry to move into second place.

As the mandatory pit window opened with 30 minutes remaining, Antinucci still held the lead as he pulled in to turn his car over to Corey Lewis with 28 minutes to go. The No. 27 stayed out and ended up pitting late in the window as Paolo Ruberti took over the wheel.

After that cycle was complete, Ruberti was in the lead and worked hard over the last 20 minutes to hold off Lewis. The lead was less than a second for most of the next 10-12 minutes, and then Lewis made a bold move at the end of the back straightaway with seven minutes to go. Ruberti pushed him out of the way though as they moved through traffic and held onto the lead and he drove the car to their first victory of the season. Michimi and his teammate Brandon Gdovic finished in third.

“That was a good battle with Corey,” Ruberti said. “We had some touching together and we can be proud to be the winners today.”

“The start was quite tricky. I didn’t want to make any mistakes and risk it in the first few laps,” Sbirrazzuoli said. “I knew the car was strong in the dry and I was waiting for the conditions to improve. I saw an opportunity as the cars ahead of me were battling and I was waiting to take advantage of that situation. I managed to pass both and was able to catch the leader. At that point, it was too risky to overtake right before the pit window opened, so we were able to give Paolo a clear track to take the lead.”

Early in the race in the Pro-Am Class, Patrick Liddy held an early lead in the No. 24 US RaceTronics/Lamborghini La Jolla entry. As the pit window opened, the season’s class leader – the No. 09 entry from US RaceTronics and Lamborghini Vancouver – was the first to pit and Damon Ockey turned over to Jacob Eidson. He took no time in assuming the lead and slowly pulled ahead for their sixth win in seven races.

Liddy and Ron Atapattu finished second while William Hubbell and Bruno Junqueria in the No. 69 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing entry was third.

The Am Class once again featured a battle between two young drivers in Steven Aghakhani and Madison Snow. Aghakhani, 16, held the early lead and was first to pit with 27 minutes to remaining.

Following the pit window, Snow assumed a slim class lead until Aghakhani spun in turn 11 with 18 minutes remaining. From there, Snow held a comfortable lead for the remainder of the race to earn his fourth class win of the season. Sheena Monk in the No. 7 Dream Racing, Lamborghini Palmyra finished in third.

The LB Cup perhaps provided the most drama of the race, as Chad Reed enjoyed an early class lead before Thomas Lovelady overtook him in the class-leading No. 08 entry from GMG Racing/Lamborghini Newport Beach, shortly before both cars stopped in the mandatory pit window.

Lovelady turned the car over to class leader Mel Johnson, and he remained in the lead for most of the second half of the race – until the end.

Justin Price took over for Reed and had stayed close to Johnson. On the last lap, he made a late move to overtake the No. 08 and go on to earn the second victory for he and his partner, the Supercross star who is in his first year of Super Trofeo.

Ashton Harrison and Stephanie Cemo in the No. 43 Prestige Performance/Wayne Taylor Racing/Lamborghini Paramus continued their strong season with a third-place finish.

ATLANTA – Six fans were injured Saturday when lightning struck a pine tree near the 16th tee at East Lake Golf Club.

Two lightning strikes occurred at 4:45 p.m. ET as fans were seeking shelter, less than a half hour after officials sounded the weather-warning horn at 4:17 p.m.

According to a statement from the PGA Tour, four of the fans were injured by debris from the strike, which was adjacent to a hospitality area. Emergency personnel treated six fans in total who were all transported to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

“The emergency service people were right on the scene, got those people off there quickly,” said Mark Russell, a Tour vice president for rules and competition. “We understand they're not life-threatening injuries.”

Third-round play was suspended for the day and the round will resume Sunday at 8 a.m. Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka were in the day’s final group and were on the sixth hole when play was halted.

Tour officials said that based on the forecast, which called for a 50 to 60 percent chance of storms between 3 and 6 p.m., they made the decision not to move up tee times in an attempt to avoid the storms.

“We had a situation where they were pop-up thunderstorms. We can monitor that. And a lot of times we get lucky and we don't get hit with thunderstorms, especially when it's a situation when they're pop-ups like that,” Russell said. “I think if we did that every time we had a possibility of thunderstorms in the Southeast, we'd do that basically every time we played golf.”

The Tour has been criticized in the past for not adjusting tee times when storms are in the forecast, but players weren’t prepared to start second-guessing the circuit. 

“Absolutely we should have [moved up tee times], but the Tour has been doing this a long time and has made a lot of great decisions,” said Matt Kuchar, who was on the eighth hole. “This is a tricky one. I have a lot of faith in the Tour and their decision-making process.”

Gary Woodland, who was through 12 holes, added: “I’m sure with 30 players they thought they could get around and squeeze it in, but 7 p.m. finish makes it tough for that. It’s easy to say that afterwards. Now you’re just hoping everybody’s alright.”

ATLANTA – The third round of the Tour Championship was suspended following a weather delay that included four fans injured following two lightning strikes at East Lake.

"EMT tended to those fans and two others injured immediately and transported them from the property via ambulance for further medical attention," the PGA Tour said in a statement. "Our latest report is that their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening."

With play halted for the day, 26 players have yet to finish their third round, with the final group of Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas through five holes. Thomas holds a one-shot lead over Koepka and Rory McIlroy.

Third-round play will resume Sunday at 8 a.m. ET. The final round will begin following conclusion of that, with players going off in twosomes off the first tee as normal.

Just 18 holes stand between Viktor Hovland and a PGA Tour card.

The 21-year-old Oklahoma State product fired a 7-under 64 Saturday at the Albertsons Boise Open to take a one-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of the second of three Korn Ferry Tour Finals events.

"It could be my first professional victory, and that's always something special," Hovland told reporters.

A win by the talented Norwegian, who made seven birdies to climb to 15 under, would move him to No. 1 on the Finals points list. The top 25 on that list after next week’s KFT Championship earn Tour status for next season, so Hovland, T-10 entering the week, could secure his card even without a win.

Hovland earned special temporary membership this season on the PGA Tour, and though he fell short of earning his card this summeer like peers – and Tour winners – Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa, he did secure enough points to qualify for the Finals.

"It's been a crazy journey so far, and I've only been a professional golfer for a couple months," Hovland said. "Seeing what Collin and Matt have donee, hopefully I can try to catch them. Looking back, I don't think anyone could've really expected that to have happened, but it's a lot of fun, and I'll have a lot of fun playing tomorrow. ... Whatever happens, happens."

Rob Oppenheim and Bronson Burgoon, two players looking to retain Tour status, are tied for second at 14 under, a shot back of Hovland. Hank Lebioda and Tyler Duncan, each in the same boat, are another shot behind in a share of fourth along with Ryan Brehm, who was among the 25 players to earn their cards via the regular season.

The battle for the final three automatic qualifying spots on the U.S. Solheim Cup team is headed to a nerve-wracking conclusion Sunday at the CP Women’s Open.

Six players enter the final round with realistic shots at playing their way on to captain Juli Inkster’s team.

In the fight for the final roster spot off the U.S. Solheim Cup points list, Brittany Altomare put herself in strong position to hold off Angel Yin and Ally McDonald, the only players who can still overtake her.

In the fight for the final two roster spots off the Rolex world rankings list, Yin and Austin Ernst aren’t yet guaranteed anything in their bids to hold on to those spots. While Yin put herself in a very strong position, she needs to avoid a final-round stumble to hold off Amy Olson, Annie Park and McDonald, all of whom remain in the hunt to play their way on to the team.

Ernst made herself vulnerable missing the cut on Friday.

Here’s a closer look . . .

IN THE POINTS RACE

(Top-20 finishes earn points, with 60 points for first place, 30 for second place, 28.5 for third and down to 3 for 20th place)

Altomare (257.5 points) – With a solid 1-under-par 71 Saturday, Altomare sits T-22 on the CP Women’s Open leaderboard. She currently holds the eighth and final spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup points list.

McDonald (250.5 points) – If Altomare doesn’t finish T-20 or better Sunday, McDonald can pass her with a finish of T-17 or better. McDonald’s 69 on Saturday left her T-45, five shots behind the players currently holding the T-17 position.

Yin (217 points) – Yin must win to have a chance to overtake Altomare. Yin’s 68 on Saturday left her T-8 on the CP Women’s Open leaderboard, seven shots behind the co-leaders.

IN THE WORLD RANKINGS RACE

(The top two in the Rolex world rankings who aren’t qualified on the U.S. Solheim Cup points list will earn rosters spots)

Yin (No. 32) – At T-8 on the CP Women’s Leaderboard, she just needs to avoid a Sunday stumble to secure her spot via the world rankings.

Altomare (No. 40) – If Altomare secures a roster spot on points, her world ranking here doesn’t matter. But if she gets passed on points, she can still make the team off this list.

Ernst (No. 41) – Currently holds the second roster spot off this list, but her missed cut Friday left her in danger of getting passed.

Park (No. 42) – Just .01 average world ranking points behind Ernst, Park doesn’t have to do much to move past Ernst and take that second world-ranking spot. Park currently sits T-49 on the CP Women’s Open leaderboard. Even if she stays right there, she can still pass Ernst, depending on what other players do to move up or down in the complex computation of the world rankings. Park, however, has to worry about Olson and McDonald passing Ernst to take that second spot.

Olson (No. 50) – Olson is in good position to take one of these two spots after her third consecutive 68 moved her to T-5 on the CP Women’s Open leaderboard. If she finishes solo fifth or better, she will probably be in position to make the team, depending greatly upon what other players do to move up or down in the world rankings.

McDonald (No. 60) – Her best chance is to pass Altomare on points, but she has a long shot’s chance to make it via the world rankings. McDonald probably needs to finish third or better at the CP Women’s Open to have a chance to make it off the world-rankings list, depending on what other players do to move up or down in the rankings. McDonald is T-45 on the CP Women’s Open leaderboard.

Kristen Gillman (No. 65) – Gillman needs a phenomenal rally to make it, but she’s mathematically alive. She currently sits T-41 on the CP Women’s leaderboard and probably needs to finish fourth or better to have a chance to make the team.

Real Madrid's early optimism was punctured by an 88th-minute equaliser from Real Valladolid's Sergi Guardiola as Zinedine Zidane's side stumbled to a 1-1 draw in their first home game of the La Liga season on Saturday.

Karim Benzema looked to have fired Madrid to a second straight win after last week's confidence-boosting 3-1 victory at Celta Vigo when he scored in the 82nd minute with a splendid piece of skill.

The Frenchman, Madrid's top scorer last campaign, controlled a pass with his back to goal and swivelled before striking his finish into the far corner to give the home side a deserved lead.

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Serbian striker Luka Jovic had gone close to breaking the deadlock earlier in the game when he headed against the crossbar barely a minute after coming off the bench, while Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez also spurned chances.

Valladolid had offered little in attack but grabbed a shock equaliser with only their second shot on target when Guardiola struck through the legs of Thibaut Courtois to complete a swift counter-attack after Toni Kroos had surrendered possession.

The goal plunged a happy Santiago Bernabeu crowd into silence and left Madrid with four points after two games.

"I'm left with a bitter taste because we did the hardest thing, which was to score in a second half where we did not produce our best performance," Madrid coach Zidane told a news conference.

"It's a bad feeling when you concede an equaliser so soon after scoring. We played well in the first half, but we were unable to find the net."

Real were without suspended midfielder Luka Modric but Rodriguez made his first appearance in a Madrid shirt for over two years in a team containing 10 players that were in the squad when Zidane first took charge in January 2016.

After a strong start in the unforgiving summer heat of the Spanish capital, Madrid struggled to maintain their intensity after the interval but found a breakthrough when it looked least likely due to the quick thinking of Benzema.

They were powerless to deal with the speed of Valladolid's counterattack which saw Guardiola level six minutes later, however, although Zidane said the draw was not down to his side's waning energy levels.

"We were less convinced of ourselves in the second half," he added.

"We did not play with fluidity and when we lack that we run into problems. But we cannot blame our result on the heat, our problems today were not physical ones."

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