Real Madrid vs Barcelona. Spanish Super Cup Semi-finals.
Santiago BernabeuAttendance70,000.
5-1
Thursday 17 August 2017 09:14, UK
Real Madrid produced a dominant display in the Spanish Super Cup second leg to beat Barcelona 2-0 on the night and lift the trophy after a 5-1 aggregate win.
After a controversial first leg at the Nou Camp that saw Real win 3-1 and resulted in Cristiano Ronaldo's five-match suspension, the hosts on Wednesday rounded off their pre-season preparations in style.
Marco Asensio (4) produced another fantastic strike to add to his first leg efforts before Karim Benzema (39) doubled the lead. While Barcelona improved in the second half, they were unable to reduce the deficit as Real took the victory 5-1 on aggregate.
Real made the perfect start at the Bernabeu as Asensio picked up where he left off on Sunday. He collected a pass 25 yards out before curling the sweetest of strikes past Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, who could only watch it hammer into his net.
Barcelona's best period of the first half came just after conceding the opening goal. A fine Javier Mascherano chip found Luis Suarez in the box but he just skewed his volley wide before a Lionel Messi pass destined for the Uruguayan was cut out by Sergio Ramos.
Real did not let the Barca dominance rest and they should have extended their lead in the 34th minute as an impressive Lucas Vazquez smashed the woodwork when he tried his luck from the top of the box.
Five minutes later, Benzema put the game to bed. It was another fine goal as he controlled Marcelo's fizzing cross before turning and hitting home on a half volley to put Real 5-1 ahead on aggregate before the break.
The crossbar was rattled again eight minutes into the second half, this time by Messi.
Suarez tapped the ball into the Barca captain's path, allowing him to get away from two Real defenders on the left of the box before shooting, but Navas did well to push the effort onto the underside of the woodwork before it bounced wide.
Barcelona saw the better second-half chances but could not find the back of the net, with Suarez and Sergi Roberto going close in quick succession just after the hour mark, before the Uruguayan also hit the crossbar with a dinked effort in the 72nd minute.
But Real were just too strong for their rivals over the two legs, and add the Spanish Super Cup victory to their UEFA Super Cup win against Manchester United just over a week ago.
While he may not have registered a goal or an assist on Wednesday, Vazquez was a constant menace for the Barcelona defence, especially in the first half. His darting runs down the right flank left Samuel Umtiti and co in all sorts of bother as Real dominated proceedings and he should have had a goal after hitting the woodwork in the 34th minute.
After being used in the most Real games last season (50), he looks set for another busy season if his performances continue to impress.
Both sides begin their La Liga campaign on Sunday and the matches will be shown on Sky Sports Football, with Barcelona hosting Real Betis before Real Madrid welcome Deportivo to the Bernabeu at 9.15pm.
