Real Madrid vs. AC Milan: Score, Grades and Reaction from 2015 ICC

Real Madrid beat AC Milan 10-9 on penalties at the Shanghai Stadium on Thursday to seal top spot in the China leg of the pre-season International Champions Cup.

Real goalkeeper Kiko Casilla was the hero, as he scored for 10-9 and then made the decisive save that saw a mammoth shootout finally ended.

The match ended 0-0 in regular time, as neither side could find a telling opening in an often sluggish affair with few moments of inspiration.

Real Madrid's Twitter feed provided the starting XI, which saw the returning Lucas Vazquez given an opportunity on the right flank:

Milan also provided their lineup:

The opening half was a stale affair. The Serie A side started brightly, with Luca Antonelli driving into the box after a powerful run in the second minute, but his attempt was deflected behind by Raphael Varane.

Player	Grade
Keylor Navas	B+
Alvaro Arbeloa	B-
Danilo	C
Pepe	B
Raphael Varane	B
Casemiro	A-
Lucas Vazquez	B
Luka Modric	B
Cristiano Ronaldo	B+
Gareth Bale	B+
Karim Benzema	B

Cristiano Ronaldo's first real chance came midway through the first half, as Real were awarded a free-kick on the left edge of the box, but he could only drive it into the wall.

The Portuguese was still entertaining the crowd though, per AS:

The lively M'Baye Niang broke past Pepe and through on goal late in the half, but Keylor Navas came flying out to smother the ball, the forward being bundled over in the collision.

Real improved after the break, as they made several changes, per AS:

Two minutes into the half, Jese drove to the byline on the right and cut back for Toni Kroos to shoot from the edge of the box, the German firing just wide.

Isco then did brilliantly in the box to evade three Milan defenders on the left and set up a cross for Ronaldo to head down, but Diego Lopez made the save.

At the other end, Casilla was forced into a fingertip save on the hour when Milan substitute Carlos Bacca fired a stinging right-footed shot from the edge of the area.

Real looked the more lively of the sides as the match wore on, but the humid Shanghai conditions unsurprisingly had a negative impact on the pace of the game.

Player	Grade
Diego López	A-
Alex	B
Luca Antonelli	A
Mattia De Sciglio	B
Rodrigo Ely	C
Andrea Bertolacci	B
Andrea Poli	B
Nigel de Jong	C+
Alessio Cerci	B
M'Baye Niang	A
Suso	A-

However, it was Milan who nearly broke the deadlock with nine minutes to go. Gifted the ball by a Sergio Ramos error, Bacca found himself in the box with only the keeper to beat, and although Casilla made a great save, the former Sevilla man really should have found the back of the net.

The decisive moment never arrived in the 90 minutes, and penalties were required to decide the victor in the International Champions Cup.

Kroos and Bacca both missed to see the shootout go to sudden death at 4-4, and following Casilla's successful penalty, he saved from 16-year-old opposite number Gianluigi Donnarumma to hand Real the triumph.

Real Madrid's next pre-season game comes against Tottenham Hotspur at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena, where they will hope to put together a more coherent display with the La Liga season looming.

Similarly, Milan head to Munich to face Bayern in the Audi Cup and will be looking to build on the defensive positives, having kept a clean sheet against Real. 

Reaction

Milan boss Sinisa Mihajlovic was happy with his side's performance despite the eventual shootout defeat, per Football Italia:

"

We competed on level terms with Real Madrid and dominated the match for large spells. The two matches that we played here give us courage and confirm what we have been doing. We have always trained well and with the utmost commitment. We can never get our mental approach wrong. Our style of play in attack and defence has to be carried out as we have planned. We must always remain an organised team and one that plays to win. The performance was excellent.

"

Indeed, the Italian outfit did look organised and committed throughout the 90 minutes, a positive sign for Mihajlovic as the new Serie A season draws nearer.