The £80m man came in for close attention from Rover’s defenders, not all of it fitting the ’friendly’ title of this match, and could not conjure any of his trademark magic before being withdrawn at half-time with the score 0-0.

He was given two chances to produce with a free-kick, but sent the first one well wide and the second into the wall.

Indeed, the best scoring chance in the first half fell to the hosts as Sean O’Connor cut in from the right-hand side before sending a low shot just wide.

The sides swapped chances after the break, with Rafael van der Vaart going close twice, the second with a spectacular overhead kick, and another high-priced import, Karim Benzema striking the post in the 56th minute.

Eventually, it was Benzema who won it, latching on to a long ball to score the only goal three minutes from time to secure an undeserved win.