Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo struck first-half goals as Real Madrid beat 10-man Barcelona 2-1 to lift the Spanish Super Cup before a full house at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. With last Thursday’s first leg at Camp Nou having ended in a 3-2 Barca victory, Madrid took the title on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate draw.
All the action came in an exciting first half, where Lionel Messi replied with a brilliant free-kick for Barcelona, who had previously lost Adriano to a straight red card for a last-man foul on Ronaldo. It was a timely success for Madrid, who have already fallen five points behind arch rivals Barca in La Liga after a draw and a loss in their first two league games. “The team went out well from the start and created chances, got the goals and then they (Barcelona) went down to 10 men,” said Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka. “After all that, the result was a lot closer than we expected, but we’re happy to lift the trophy. We got a reaction from our players and that’s the important thing.” Barca coach Tito Vilanova said he was pleased with his players’ response after a difficult start. “I congratulate Madrid on their win, but I felt proud of our performance with only 10 men, especially in the second half, where we had five good chances to level the game,” he said.
With the tie finely balanced, both sides started with near full-strength teams. Madrid coach Jose Mourinho kept faith with Higuain, who had scored in consecutive league games, leaving Karim Benzema to start on the bench with Luka Modric, who made his first appearance for Madrid after signing on Monday.
