Real Madrid has secured yet another trophy under Zinedine Zidane, and it’s come at the expense of hated rival Barcelona.
Real Madrid padded its 3-1 first-leg win at Camp Nou with a dominant 2-0 triumph at the Bernabeu to win the Spanish Super Cup for the first time since 2012 on a 5-1 aggregate. Marco Asensio followed up his sensational goal to cap the first-leg win with a fourth-minute stunner, and Karim Benzema added a beautiful goal of his own, delivering a second straight setback to Ernesto Valverde’s Neymar-less side prior to the kickoff of La Liga.
Real Madrid eased to the second-leg win and won the Super Cup for a 10th time without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo or the rested Gareth Bale and Isco. Barcelona struggled to get a foothold in the game, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez each hitting the post for the visitors’ best chances.
Asensio removed all doubt early on and made Barcelona’s climb that much steeper by delivering a dipping dagger from long range not even five minutes in, capping Real Madrid’s period of early pressure.
The goal marked the 68th straight game in all competitions in which Real Madrid has scored, with Zidane’s side continuing its consistent assault, no matter the opposing side.
It took Barcelona a bit longer before it got a foothold in the match, with its first half-chance coming off a sensational volley attempt by Suarez following Javier Mascherano’s chipped ball forward in the 12th minute.
Real Madrid came inches from doubling its lead on the day through Toni Kroos, who opted for a softly hit chance from the center of the box after Lucas Vazquez’s lay off pass in the 30th minute.
A minute later, Vazquez set up Benzema for a close-range header, but Gerard Pique’s last-gasp intervention put the ball out for a corner.
Vazquez took things into his own feet moments after that, spraying a left-footed chance off the left post after beating goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen from 15 yards.
Benzema scored Madrid’s deserved second goal in the 39th minute off a clinical self-volley from Marcelo’s assist, giving Real a 2-0 lead on the day and a 5-1 advantage on aggregate.
Messi produced Barcelona’s best moment of the match in the 53rd minute, working a combination with Suarez and beating Keylor Navas, only to be denied by the underside of the crossbar.
Messi set up Suarez for another Barcelona chance in the 70th minute, but again the visitors hit the woodwork, with Suarez’s diving header clanging off the outside of the right post.
The trophy is the second of the season already for Real Madrid, which captured the UEFA Super Cup by topping Manchester United.
Real Madrid will still have the FIFA Club World Cup, La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles for which to play in 2017-18, while Barcelona limps into the new season, still staggering after the departure of Neymar. Barcelona has thus far brought in Brazilian midfielder Paulinho and Portuguese right back Nelson Semedo, and it has been linked to big-money moves for Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho and Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele.