Karim Benzema fires Real Madrid CF past PSG in preseason friendly

Carlo Ancelotti enjoyed a slice of enjoyment against his former club as Real Madrid edged Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in a pre-season friendly played at Gothenburg on Saturday.

The Italian coach, who led PSG to their first French title since 1994 last season before controversially leaving for the Spanish capital, saw his side control the match on their way to a morale boosting win.

Former Lyon striker and French international Karim Benzema did the damage on 23 minutes after picking up a pass from German international Mesut Ozil and stroking the purest of shots past PSG 'keeper Salvatore Sirigu and into the bottom right hand corner.

In front of a crowd of some 45,000 in the city that hosted the 1958 World Cup final, Argentine forward Ezequiel Levezzi should have equalised six minutes before half-time when he was played in alone by Zlatan Ibrahimovic only to mess up his control and fumble the ball wide.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was a lively presence for Real and forced several fine saves from Sirigu as well as setting up a chance for Angel Di Maria on 52 minutes but the Italian 'keeper tipped the shot behind for a corner.

"We were lacking something tonight and are still struggling for fitness. It's always going to be difficult to play against a world class team like Real Madrid but we hope to be ready for the match against Bordeaux (French Supercup) next week," said Sirigu.

Uruguayan signing Edison Cavani who arrived at PSG from Napoli recently was not included in the squad.

PSG coach Laurent Blanc witnessed his team's second defeat of the pre-season after losing 3-1 against Austrian outfit Sturm Graz.

Real Madrid drew 2-2 at Lyon in midweek after spotting the seven-time champions a 2-0 advantage before battling back in the final 11 minutes.