The 22-year-old Argentina winger, who moved to the Spanish capital on a six-year contract from Benfica earlier this summer, opened the scoring midway through the second half to set Madrid on their way to a 2-0 win over Uruguayan outfit Penarol.

Rafael van der Vaart's stoppage-time goal later clinched the victory in the 32nd edition of the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy.

"I am very happy with the game we played and with the goal I scored," Di Maria told www.realmadrid.com after his man-of-the-match display.

"We did well to end the pre-season with a victory. We played well in the first half and we luckily scored in the second.

"I was a bit nervous before the match, but everything went well in the end.

"I hope to earn a place in the starting line-up. We all work hard for that and I will do my very best in training sessions and in the games I play to make the starting XI.

"We want to have a good start to the league and to earn a victory in our first game. We work hard to be 100% in shape."

The Spanish giants have not won La Liga since 2008, finishing second to Barcelona in each of the last two seasons.

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Meanwhile, midfielder Fernando Gago will undergo tests to discover the extent of the injury which caused him to be substituted early in the second half last night.

A short statement on club website www.realmadrid.com read: "Fernando Gago has a sprain on the internal lateral ligament of his left knee.

"He will have to undergo several medical examinations to determine the seriousness of the injury and the time he will have to miss due to it."