The fixture was a curious one: the multimillionaires of Real Madrid taking on AFC Bournemouth, whose only previous known connection with European football aristocracy is their red and black stripes - an homage to Milan's kit.
But the 6-0 result was no surprise. Cristiano Ronaldo led the charge for Real with two first-half goals, one a 30-yard special, to make sure there was never going to be a happy ending for Dorset's finest to this fairytale fixture on the south coast.
It mattered little for the 12,000 or so home fans who had rolled in from the beach with their suntans and £60-a-go tickets. These are good times to be a Bournemouth fan.
Back in the late 90s the Cherries were 15 minutes away from ruin only to be saved by a fans' trust fund and a decade later narrowly escaped slipping out of the football league. But they will play Championship football this season after winning promotion thanks to eight straight victories.
"Promotion was good enough," said life-long fan Tim Spencer. "But having this fixture is just unbelievable. The result isn't that important. This game has put us on the map."
A few fans were disgruntled at the price of the tickets and many remain puzzled at how the club got the game in the first place. "I think it's got to be something to do with these Russians we have in the background," said another fan, Jim Jones. "It's just money," said Stevie Green, who had travelled from Liverpool to see his hometown team. "Madrid will have been paid a packet to come."
The club isn't spelling out exactly how it landed the fixture. According to the souvenir programme the club's director of football, Tom Mitchell, "took a call" a little over a month ago about the possibility of a visit from Real Madrid. Officials from the Spanish giants came and checked the airport, the town and the facilities at Dean Court and declared themselves satisfied. Real Madrid were booked.
That Russian connection is the multimillionaire petrochemicals trader Max Demin, who owns a pad down the road on Sandbanks, one of the UK's most expensive pieces of real estate, and a share of the football club.
The biggest cheer of the night came in the first few minutes when Bournemouth's right-back, Simon Francis, halted Ronaldo's first run. But there was precious little for Ronaldo detractors to revel in after that.
In the first 15 minutes he almost scored with one backheel and with another put in Karim Benzema for another chance, well saved by the Bournemouth keeper, Darryl Flahavan.
On five minutes Ronaldo's free-kick cleared the bar by inches but 15 minutes later, from 30 yards out, he curled the ball around the wall for the first goal.
Two minutes later Real Madrid's new signing Isco flipped the ball forward. The Bournemouth club captain, Tommy Elphick, made a hash of the clearance and Ronaldo pounced and easily rounded the keeper to score.
Just before half time, a charge upfield from Sami Khedira forced a corner. Isco took it, Khedira stabbed home. Game over.
Ronaldo and most of the other first-teamers were rested for the second half, though Kaká was a reasonable replacement. Goals from Gonzalo Higuaín, Angel di María and Casemiro completed the rout.
Real Madrid will fly on to the United States while Bournemouth will prepare for a pre-season friendly against Portsmouth on Tuesday before their opening Championship game against Charlton. And the optimistic home fans will dream of a time when they can compete with Ronaldo and his pals.
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