Castilla win on Premier League International Cup debut

Castilla beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 in their first ever appearance in the Premier League International Cup, played at Molineux Stadium. Arbeloa’s boys were the better side for the vast majority of the game, and enjoyed a host of chances to take an earlier lead. Despite an impressive display by the opposition goalkeeper and defence, Bruno got the game’s only goal on 84’ when he unleashed a gorgeous free-kick. Our team’s next game in the competition comes on 3 December, against Everton at Goodison Park.

The game got underway at a quick pace, with both sides looking to press high. Madrid came close early on, as Valdepeñas laid a lovely ball to Jacobo, who was just beaten to it by the opposition goalkeeper with two minutes played. Castilla were looking the more positive of the two sides, as Aguado then headed towards goal on 16’, but was kept out by Nasta. Four minutes later, Pol Fortuny slid a ball in behind for Jacobo, but the hosts' defender just managed to get there first.

The home side began to threaten as the minutes wore on, and Pond's 29th-minute header came crashing back off the crossbar, before being cleared off the line by Aguado. On 32’, Okoduwa had another decent chance but his fierce shot was expertly tipped behind by Mestre. Our team were back in control of the game just before half-time, and Manuel Ángel could have made it 0-1 bang on 45’, but his powerful effort flew just off target.

Bruno strikes 
Following the restart, the Madrid academy outfit were camped in opposition territory. With 53 minutes played, Bruno fired off a daisy-cutter that was headed for the bottom corner, but the Wolves goalie tipped it around the post. The game remained much the same throughout the second half, Arbeloa's boys looking to open up the defence, but the English side staying compact and using their physicality to quell the madridista attacks.
In the closing stages, Pol Durán, who had come off the bench on 67', raced through one-on-one with Nasta, only for the shot-stopper to come out on top. Castilla refused to give in though, and with 84 minutes on the clock, they finally made it 0-1 thanks to Bruno. The midfielder unleashed a sublime free-kick with the inside of his right boot to leave the goalkeeper with no chance - it was the least the team efforts of Arbeloa's boys deserved. Just one minute later and it could have been 0-2, as a swift counter ended with G. Castrelo's effort whistling just wide. The scores remained the same until the full-time whistle, handing Castilla their first three points in the Premier League International Cup. 

The tournament is organised by the Premier League and is held entirely in England for U21 teams. It’s made up of four groups of eight teams, with each comprising four English sides and four from other European leagues. The top two in each group will make the quarter-finals, from which point a single-game knockout format is followed. 

LINE-UPS:
0-Wolverhampton: Nasta, Okoduwa, Olagunju, Ojinnaka (Lopes, 89’), Pond, Barnett (White, 83’), Mané, Rawlings, Holman (Angel, 70’), Edozie (Bradbury, 70’) and Sutherland.
1-Castilla: Mestre, D. Jiménez, Diego Aguado, Manu Serrano, Valdepeñas (Joan Martínez, 67’), Cristian David (Cestero, 61’), Manuel Ángel (Pol Durán, 61’), Bruno, Pol Fortuny, Roberto (G. Castrelo, 67’) and Jacobo (Loren Zúñiga, 61). 
Goals
0-1 (min. 84): Bruno.