On Tuesday evening, football fans will be glued to the blue screens of their television sets - two titled European clubs will clash in the battle for the UEFA Super Cup trophy.
"Real Madrid" - "Man Utd"
Tournament: UEFA Super Cup
Stadium: "National Arena" (Skopje)
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
Date and time: 2017-08-08, 21:45
For the first trophy of the 2017-18 season, the winners of the UEFA-organized tournaments will compete - the triumphing team of the Champions League, Madrid's "Real", against the team that won the Europa League final, "Manchester United".
Sporting form
Both clubs began their preparations for the season in the United States. It is interesting to note that a dress rehearsal for the UEFA Super Cup match was held across the Atlantic - the two clubs faced each other in friendly matches.
The "Red Devils" took the lead after the first half with a score of 1-0, but in the second half, Casemiro equalized the score and led the teams to a penalty shootout. Both teams did not perform very successfully in this shootout, but the "Man Utd" players were more precise and achieved a symbolic victory.
These matches certainly did not clarify which club is stronger, so an intriguing showdown is expected in Macedonia.
"Man Utd" had an excellent preparation for the new season - they won six out of seven games played. Jose Mourinho's protégés only lost to the "Barcelona" team, while they defeated teams like "Man City" and "Sampdoria".
Meanwhile, "Real" did not shine in friendly matches - they did not manage to win any game in 90 minutes. The "Whites" lost not only to "Man Utd", but also to the "Man City" and "Barcelona" teams, and they only achieved a victory after a penalty shootout against the MLS All-Stars team.
Team news
"Real" did not shine in this transfer window with prominent stars, but young talents joined the team. After being loaned out, Marcos Llorente, Borja Mayoral, and Jesus Vallejo returned to the team, and Madrid only had to pay for Dani Ceballos and Theo Hernandez.
However, the Champions League winners lost important players - Alvaro Morata, James Rodriguez, Pepe, and Danilo left the team.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the brightest star of the team, missed the entire summer training cycle, bu...