Spanish Super Cup First Leg: Madrid Go Past Barcelona 3-1
Match Highlights:
- Madrid Won 3-1
- Ronaldo was given a red card
- The second leg will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu
Real Madrid destroyed rivals Barcelona in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup as they won 3-1 on the night. Goals by Asensio, Ronaldo and an own goal by Pique saw Madrid comfortably win the El Classico. Madrid goes into the second leg of the tie with a huge advantage which will be played in the Santiago Bernabeu.
The first match of the Spanish season kicked off in style with Barcelona and Madrid taking center stage at the Camp Nou for the Super Cup. A highly demotivated Barcelona will still be reeling from the loss of their star player Neymar and had their backs against the wall even before the match kicked off. Valverde’s decision to abandon the usual Barcelona 4-3-3 was an attempt to deal with the giant Neymar shaped hole that has been left on the left wing. A confused, nervous display in the first half revealed how little time they have spent working on the system during a packed pre-season. And a star studded Madrid made the most of that; their performance on the night spoke volumes of their team and bench strength.
An own goal by Pique, one that will give nightmares to the Catalan defender helped put Madrid in the lead. It was not before long that Barcelona resorted to their usual cheating tactics and a blatant dive by Suarez resulted in a penalty for Barcelona that was converted by Messi. That was the end of Barcelona’s hopes on the night though as pacey counter-attacks by Ronaldo and Asensio shredded Barcelona apart. It was a bittersweet night for Ronaldo though, who coming off from the bench was awarded a red card soon after scoring.
Madrid go into the second leg are favorites to win the Cup after a thunderbolt of a performance.Stay tuned for the second leg.
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