Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in the Supercopa de Espana first leg thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s wondergoal.
Cristiano
Ronaldo scored a stunning winner before being sent off for a dive in
Real Madrid’s Supercopa de Espana first-leg triumph over Barcelona.
The
Portugal star came off the bench to blast home the third goal of the
visitors’ 3-1 win at Camp Nou but earned a second yellow card for going
to ground in the penalty area two minutes later, having earlier been
booked for taking his shirt off in celebration.
Zinedine
Zidane’s side took the lead early in the second half through an own
goal from Gerard Pique but Barca levelled thanks to Lionel Messi’s
penalty, which was won in controversial fashion by Luis Suarez.
Ronaldo
put Madrid back ahead with a spectacular strike but was dismissed
within two minutes of that goal and risked further punishment when he
pushed the referee in the back before departing the field.
Barca
pushed for a second equaliser late on but were undone by Marco
Asensio’s brilliant strike on the break, meaning they have it all to do
at the Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday in the first Supercopa tie
between these sides since 2012.
Barca
had the upper hand in the early exchanges, with Suarez testing Keylor
Navas from just inside the area and Dani Carvajal was perhaps fortunate
to escape being penalised for handball when blocking Gerard Deulofeu’s
cross.
Neither side looked prepared to commit
to the attack in a rather tepid first half and Gareth Bale saw the
clearest chance saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen from inside the penalty
area following Isco’s jinking run.
Pique – who
scored the winner when these teams met in the International Champions
Cup last month – had been booked for attempting to punch the ball
towards goal following a corner in the first half and it was another
moment of ignominy for the centre-back that gave Madrid the lead five
minutes after the break.
Marcelo ran onto
Isco’s pass down the left and sent a low cross into box, and Pique
steered the ball into his own net on the slide as he attempted to clear
it for a corner.
Barca suddenly looked unsteady
at the back and it took a brilliant sliding block from Jordi Alba to
prevent Carvajal from making it 2-0 after some brilliant work from Karim
Benzema.
Valverde introduced Denis Suarez from
the bench and the move almost paid off immediately, the midfielder’s
corner headed goalwards by Luis Suarez only for Navas to make a fine
one-handed save.
Ronaldo, on in place of
Benzema, had a shot blocked behind by Pique and the assistant referee’s
raised flag denied him when he did find the net following Casemiro’s
throughball.
The
32-year-old took full advantage of his next chance, though, playing a
one-two with Isco to set up a counter-attack before cutting inside Pique
and firing into the top-right corner from 20 yards.
Ronaldo
was booked for removing his shirt and then stunningly dismissed after
being adjudged to have gone to ground too easily in the area under
pressure from Samuel Umtiti.
But the incident
could not prevent Madrid seizing control of the tie, Asensio rifling
home an unstoppable third from the edge of the area to get watching
president Florentino Perez onto his feet.
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