REAL MADRID 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 1
REPORTS & PREVIEWS
08/08/2017 21:52, Report by Jon Taylor
REAL MADRID 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 1
UEFA Super Cup | Philip II Arena | Att: TBC | Scorers: Lukaku 62; Casemiro 24, Isco 52
MATCH SUMMARY
Manchester United were unable to kick off the competitive season with a trophy, suffering a narrow defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.
On a humid night in Skopje, a second-half strike from Romelu Lukaku proved only to be a consolation for United, as goals from Casemiro and Isco were enough to seal a 2-1 victory for the European champions.
Real Madrid enjoyed the majority of possession and chances in the first half, with Welsh forward Gareth Bale firing wide from close range and Casemiro rattling the crossbar with a header early on.
The Champions League holders took the lead after 24 minutes when Casemiro found the net, latching onto a Dani Carvajal through ball. Despite looking marginally offside, the flag stayed down and the Brazilian was able to finish past David De Gea.
Real continued to press, with both Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos forcing good saves from De Gea either side of the half-time break, before Isco doubled the lead for Zinedine Zidane’s side, coolly finishing off a well-worked one-two with Bale.
Lukaku, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic were all making their official debuts for United, and the Reds went close to pulling one back when Paul Pogba’s header was parried by Madrid keeper Keylor Navas, but Lukaku was unable to convert the rebound from close range.
Bale almost made it 3-0 when his effort thundered against De Gea’s crossbar, but it was game on less than a minute later when Lukaku pulled one back for United. A low effort from Matic was parried by Navas, with the Belgian striker showing a killer instinct to pounce on the loose ball and halve the deficit.
United continued to push for an equaliser, with substitute Marcus Rashford looking lively. The England international came close to sending the tie into extra-time when he went through one-on-one against Navas, only to have his effort tipped around the post by the Real keeper.
Fellow substitute Marouane Fellaini also nearly found a way through late on with a header, but was again denied by the impressive Navas as Real Madrid held on to claim victory in the first ever Super Cup meeting between the two sides.
THE LINE-UPS
United: De Gea; Valencia, Lindelof, Smalling, Darmian; Matic, Herrera (Fellaini 56), Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Lingard (Rashford 46); Lukaku. Substitutes not used: Romero, Blind, Carrick, Mata, Martial.
Booked: Lingard, Rashford.
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Isco (Lucas Vazquez 74), Benzema (Ronaldo 82), Bale (Asensio 74). Substitutes not used: Casilla, Nacho, Theo, Kovacic.
Booked: Carvajal, Ramos.
MATCH SUMMARY
Manchester United were unable to kick off the competitive season with a trophy, suffering a narrow defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.
On a humid night in Skopje, a second-half strike from Romelu Lukaku proved only to be a consolation for United, as goals from Casemiro and Isco were enough to seal a 2-1 victory for the European champions.
Real Madrid enjoyed the majority of possession and chances in the first half, with Welsh forward Gareth Bale firing wide from close range and Casemiro rattling the crossbar with a header early on.
The Champions League holders took the lead after 24 minutes when Casemiro found the net, latching onto a Dani Carvajal through ball. Despite looking marginally offside, the flag stayed down and the Brazilian was able to finish past David De Gea.
Real continued to press, with both Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos forcing good saves from De Gea either side of the half-time break, before Isco doubled the lead for Zinedine Zidane’s side, coolly finishing off a well-worked one-two with Bale.
Lukaku, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic were all making their official debuts for United, and the Reds went close to pulling one back when Paul Pogba’s header was parried by Madrid keeper Keylor Navas, but Lukaku was unable to convert the rebound from close range.
Bale almost made it 3-0 when his effort thundered against De Gea’s crossbar, but it was game on less than a minute later when Lukaku pulled one back for United. A low effort from Matic was parried by Navas, with the Belgian striker showing a killer instinct to pounce on the loose ball and halve the deficit.
United continued to push for an equaliser, with substitute Marcus Rashford looking lively. The England international came close to sending the tie into extra-time when he went through one-on-one against Navas, only to have his effort tipped around the post by the Real keeper.
Fellow substitute Marouane Fellaini also nearly found a way through late on with a header, but was again denied by the impressive Navas as Real Madrid held on to claim victory in the first ever Super Cup meeting between the two sides.
THE LINE-UPS
United: De Gea; Valencia, Lindelof, Smalling, Darmian; Matic, Herrera (Fellaini 56), Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Lingard (Rashford 46); Lukaku. Substitutes not used: Romero, Blind, Carrick, Mata, Martial.
Booked: Lingard, Rashford.
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Isco (Lucas Vazquez 74), Benzema (Ronaldo 82), Bale (Asensio 74). Substitutes not used: Casilla, Nacho, Theo, Kovacic.
Booked: Carvajal, Ramos.
