David Beckham set up one goal as Los Angeles Galaxy eased to a comfortable 3-0
victory over Shanghai-Hong Kong United in Shanghai today.
The England midfielder was substituted with 20 minutes remaining after taking
a knock to his right thigh, although the injury is not serious.
Carlos Ruiz scored all three goals, opening the scoring in the first half and
then adding two more late on.
Beckham, cheered on by more than 10,000 fans at the Shanghai Outdoor stadium whenever he touched the ball, took a long pass in full flight before connecting with Ruiz, who lunged forward for the headed goal.
It was Ruiz who was the star of the match though, finding the net twice more as he first tapped home Sean Franklin's right cross in the 79th minute, and then in the 84th broke through the middle alone for the easy score.
'It's always nice to win the game but I think we played really well, we played some good football and scored some good goals,' Beckham said after the game. '(Ruiz) got three goals which we're really happy with.'
The mixed Shanghai-Hong Kong side looked dangerous throughout the game as striker Wang Jiayu repeatedly burst through the middle, but they were foiled time and again by a stingy Galaxy defence.
Beckham, who played 70 minutes of the exhibition match in Shanghai, arrived in China's financial hub as part of the Galaxy's three-city Asian tour amid questions about his fitness.
Galaxy, who begin their regular season in the United States at the end of March, will wrap up their Asian tour in Hong Kong with a match on March 9. They lost their first match to K-League side FC Seoul in South Korea.
