A delightful goal by Isco on Tuesday proved the difference as Real Madrid survived a Manchester United fightback to win 2-1 and lift the UEFA Super Cup in the Macedonian capital.
Casemiro put the reigning European champions in front on 24 minutes on a steamy summer’s night in the Balkans and Isco doubled their lead seven minutes into the second half after a one-two with Gareth Bale.
The gulf in class between Madrid — for whom Cristiano Ronaldo appeared as a late substitute — and Europa League winners United that Jose Mourinho had feared was all too evident and it looked like the La Liga side would go on to win by a wider margin.
Photo: EPA
However, Romelu Lukaku pulled one back just past the hour, marking his competitive debut for United with a goal and sparking a big improvement from the Premier League club in the final stages.
It was to no avail, with Zinedine Zidane’s side winning the trophy for the second year running and the fourth time overall. It is the eighth time in nine years that a La Liga club has won the Super Cup.
“It is all down to hard work. We know there is a lot of talent in this team and there is so much hunger too, they always want more,” Zidane said after lifting more silverware. “Today was an almost perfect match, and the first half was spectacular.”
While Ronaldo started on the bench for Madrid having only commenced pre-season training over the weekend, Bale was included in the starting lineup.
United boss Mourinho caused a stir on Monday when he claimed he would make a bid to take the Welshman to Old Trafford if he were not a starter at the Philip II National Arena.
Despite the presence of Lukaku up front, with Paul Pogba behind, United often gave the impression that they could do with some extra inspiration in the final third.
Having missed much of last season’s run-in due to injury, Bale is fit again, but it was Casemiro who emerged as the unlikely main threat going forward for Real in the first half.
The Brazilian midfielder almost opened the scoring in the 16th minute, getting in front of Matteo Darmian to head a Toni Kroos corner against the bar from six yards.
The breakthrough came just past the midway point in the first half, as Dani Carvajal was afforded the time to flight a ball over Victor Lindelof — another United debutant — for Casemiro to stretch and volley past David de Gea.
De Gea, formerly a Madrid transfer target, then needed to intervene to save a Karim Benzema snap-shot that followed a driving run into the area by Luka Modric, as Zidane’s side were restricted to a one-goal lead at the break.
Mourinho sent on Marcus Rashford for Jesse Lingard at the start of the second half, yet it was at the other end that the chances kept coming.
De Gea repelled a Kroos pile driver, but there was nothing he could do to stop Isco from making it 2-0 in the 52nd minute.
Surrounded by red shirts just inside the area, Isco escaped their attentions by playing a one-two with Bale before coolly finishing past De Gea.
Bale then struck the bar, and all this was going on without Ronaldo, who appeared from the bench to warm up, raising hysterical cheers from the sizable number of locals with sympathies for the La Liga side.
Manchester United had a mountain to climb and were not helped when Lukaku blazed over after Keylor Navas pushed a Pogba header into his path.
Lukaku did not make the same mistake twice, converting the rebound when a Nemanja Matic drive was not convincingly dealt with by Navas, but the goalkeeper redeemed himself with a vital late save to deny Rashford.
Real, with Ronaldo on for the closing stages, held out.
HEATED RIVALRY: The pair had met 14 times previously, with Sabalenka winning eight of the encounters and entering the final as the favorite to take the title Elena Rybakina took revenge over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win a nail-biting Australian Open final yesterday and clinch her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed held her nerve to pull through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in 2 hours, 18 minutes. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. The ice-cool Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds her Melbourne triumph to her Wimbledon win in 2022. It was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic returned from a 16-game injury absence to post a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double on Friday and propel the Nuggets to a 122-109 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had not played since suffering a bone bruise in the left knee he hyperextended in a game against Miami on Dec. 29 last year. The Serbian big man did not miss a beat. He led all scorers, connecting on eight of 11 shots from the field, and also handed out five assists with three steals while playing just 24 minutes, 32 seconds as the
DEADLINE DAY: Rennes’ Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off the move due to the Blues’ bloated squad Liverpool on Monday won the race to sign Stade Rennais defender Jeremy Jacquet on the quiet final day of the English Premier League transfer window, while Crystal Palace swooped for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen despite the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s move to AC Milan. The Reds agreed a reported fee of up to ￡60 million (US$82 million) for the highly rated Jacquet. However, the 20-year-old will not join the Premier League champions until the summer despite Liverpool’s need for defensive reinforcements. Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off
RSS