TOKYO, 2 August 2004 — Zinedine Zidane limped off with a foot injury as Real Madrid ended their Japan tour with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Tokyo Verdy yesterday.

Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Fernando Morientes got the goals for Real, who also beat JEF United Ichihara on Thursday.

Real officials said the extent of Zidane’s injury was not known after the France midfielder, who had hit a superb opening goal, was scythed down by Verdy’s Kentaro Hayashi just after the hour.

Real coach Jose Antonio Camacho said his side was still getting the pre-season rust out of their system despite the comprehensive win.

“The players are still making their final preparations for the season and this is the time to fine tune their game,” he said.

“We have world-class players and we are on the right track, but before the season starts we must improve on moving with the ball and defending set-pieces. Today the players were still suffering from jetlag and the humidity, so I am satisfied with the result.”

Zidane scored the first after just nine minutes when Ronaldo threaded the ball to him in the box and he produced one of his trademark turns before burying the ball in the left-hand corner.

The final goal was a team effort worked from end to end with Morientes walking the ball home from a pass by Raul.

“Of course, Zidane’s goal was excellent but so was Morientes’ goal, which was came from a combination of many players, so I was pleased with that,” Camacho said.

David Beckham once again looked sharp, having a hand in the second and third goals and also flashing a volley just wide.

AC Milan Edge Man. Utd

9-8 in Penalty Shootout

In New York, AC Milan squeezed past Manchester United 9-8 on penalties after the two sides drew their Champions World Series match 1-1 in New Jersey on Saturday.

The Italians won the shootout at the Giants Stadium in East Rutherford after United captain Roy Keane and goalkeeper Tim Howard hit the post with their penalties.

United, who also lost on penalties to Bayern Munich in Chicago and were beaten 2-1 by Celtic in Philadelphia, took a 33rd-minute lead through Paul Scholes in the final game of their US tour.

But Andriy Shevchenko equalized in injury time for Milan, who next face Chelsea in Philadelphia today.

The Champions World Series features 11 friendly matches at eight venues across the United States and Canada, involving club sides from England, Italy, Scotland, Portugal, Germany and Turkey.

Celtic meet AS Roma in Toronto later on Saturday.