Madrid, Sept 22: David Beckham netted his 100th top-flight goal of his career when he fired home Real Madrid's second goal in their 3-1 win at Malaga. Beckham scored 84 goals during his 10-year professional career at English Premiership champions Manchester United, so far has another 13 to his name from his 62 appearances for England, and now has three for Real Madrid - two in the league and one in the Spanish Supercup.
His century came up in typical fashion, bending the ball into the net from the edge of the area after Roberto Carlos had tapped a free kick across for Luis Figo, who in turn laid it on for the England captain to let rip from 25 metres. The goal was appreciated by not just his team-mates.
Malaga estimated yesterday that there were 1,500 English fans crammed into their snug 25,000-seater stadium, which was filled to capacity in contrast to their normal attendance of around 15,000. To cash in on their star attraction, Malaga hiked up the prices of their tickets with some costing as much as 200 Euros.
"With so many English living or visiting the Costa Del Sol, we wanted to make the most of the opportunity presented to us," a Malaga club official admitted to reporters yesterday. Bureau Report