News: The Marseille coach cut a rather forlorn figure in the bowels of the Bernabeu, his beaten players shuffling past him uneasily onto the team bus. "My side played with fear," said Alain Perrin, although his words were more sympathetic than scathing.

Real Madrid, football's own swashbuckling Harlem Globetrotters, will hand out regular drubbings this season, like Tuesday's 4-2 demolition of the French, leaving opposing managers as dumbstruck as Perrin. With David Beckham already an integral cog in their purring engine, there is much for visitors to fear in the Spanish capital.

Beckham, marshalling central midfield and combining trademark crossfield passes with a snarling aggression rarely seen before, rejoiced in Real's ability to score at will. Zinedine Zidane, brought up in Marseille, was untouchable.

"We talked about getting off to a good start in the Champions League, about setting the tone, and that's exactly what we did, even if Marseille actually scored first," said Beckham, a NY Yankees cap pulled down in a poor attempt to pass incognito. "The way we came back from that showed character. We had some real fighting spirit out there, which was exactly what was needed."

Real's latest galactico displayed more of that tenacity than most, crunching into Camel Meriem and Fabio Celestini with gusto and refusing to complain when they sought him out and dumped him on the turf. Those brutal tackles were enough to convince many that buying Beckham was no mere commercial exercise.

"Real have unearthed an Englishman who cannot only take a fantastic corner or free-kick," reported the sports daily Marca, "but can also pick a pass and is a battler in central midfield. He's worth far more than he cost."

"It was encouraging to see him playing so well in that position, in a role in which he hasn't played that often," said the Real coach Carlos Queiroz. "Sometimes it's almost as if he's been playing in that central position since he was a young boy."

Beckham reacted by saying: "Where I play isn't really the issue. I'm more concerned about getting into this side. People know we have the quality of players here, but sometimes they point to a lack of willingness to scrap for a result. Against Marseille we showed we have the quality to come back from behind with a dose of fighting spirit."