On Tuesday evening, the 2017 UEFA Super Cup match took place in Macedonia.
The Champions League and Europa League winners competed for the first season trophy - Madrid's "Real" against "Manchester United". Zinedine Zidane's coached team once again proved their superiority in Europe by defeating the "Red Devils" with a score of 2-1.
The match started with a strong performance by the "Real" team - the "whites" controlled the ball in the midfield and created dangerous attacks. Already in the 16th minute, the Madrid team had a great opportunity to take the lead - Casemiro's header hit the post.
However, in the 24th minute, that same Brazilian managed to redeem himself after a missed opportunity - Dani Carvajal made a great high pass into the penalty area, where Casemiro, freed from defenders, reached the ball and beat David De Gea with a fall.
Throughout the rest of the first half, "Real" played confidently with the ball, but could have been punished when Romelu Lukaku missed a perfect chance - the Belgian failed to accurately send the ball when it came off Keylor Navas.
The second half continued successfully for the Champions League winners - in the 52nd minute, Isco increased the team's advantage to two goals with a precise shot after a great combination with Gareth Bale.
In the 60th minute, G. Bale could have put the final touch to the match, but he shot into the crossbar.
The rule "you don't score, they do" was proven once again - during the next attack, "Man Utd" reduced the deficit. And again, not very successfully pushing the ball away from himself, K. Navas allowed R. Lukaku to score accurately this time.
The remaining part of the match was very interesting - the "Red Devils" began to play more aggressively in the opponents' half, but "Real" had many dangerous opportunities.
Even seven added minutes did not save "Man Utd" - "Real" won the match with a score of 2-1 and defended the Super Cup title. Last season, the Spanish champions surpassed "Sevilla".
Result:
"Real Madrid" 2 - 1 "Man Utd" 24' [1 - 0] Casemiro 52' [2 - 0] Isco 62' [2 - 1] R. Lukaku
Starting lineups:
"Real": Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Isco; Bale, Benzema.
Substitutes: Casilla, Asensio, Cristiano, Theo Hernandez, Nacho, Kovacic, Vázquez.
"Man Utd": De Gea, Valencia, Lindelof, Smalling, Darmian, Matic, Herrera, Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Lingard, Lukaku.
Substitutes: Romero, Blind, Carrick, Fellaini, Mata, Martial, Rashford.
