Real Madrid 2-1 Manchester United

Real Madrid comfortably won the UEFA Super Cup 2-1 against a dogged Manchester United in Skopje tonight.

Spanish starlet Isco produced a world class performance to confirm that Real are clearly the best side in Europe. Cristiano Ronaldo did not start against his former club, but Isco stepped into his shoes with a sense of professionalism, playing in behind the strikers with comfort, roaming in and out of the pockets to tie the United defence in knots.

Real were much the better side, playing attractive passing football, allowing a fluid movement of bodies through the thirds. Their domination in the first half was benefitted by their focus on possession, starving the Red Devils of the ball, meaning that Mourinho’s men had to drop deep and defend. Modric, Casemiro and Kroos inevitably ran the show, dictating play from the midfield, with the Brazilian’s bustling runs forward from defensive midfield ultimately rewarded with a sumptuous finish into the bottom corner on 22 minutes. It was no more than Madrid deserved, with their dominance and superiority stapled onto proceedings. New boy Victor Lindelof made yet another mistake in a United shirt, after a mistake-stained pre-season was continued into the new season with poor positioning and special awareness meaning that he was ignorant of the run in behind from Casemiro. There was a hint of offside, but in the top tier of European football, there are no excuses. Mourinho knows that. And he will surely use his vast experience to drill the same into the young Swede.

Things got worse just after the break, with Isco stroking home after a delightful one-two with Bale allowed for the Spaniard to waltz around the United defence. At 2-0, many would rule out any sort of a fight back, especially against the European champions, but United struck back, with big money man Romelu Lukaku stabbing home after a thunderous shot from Matic was spilled by Keylor Navas, who looked shaky throughout the game, due to the increase in United pressure.

The focal point in Los Blancos’ victory was the predictability of United and the unpredictability from the Spaniards. Real played a slick passing game, while United were sluggish and didn’t have much attacking intent about them. Rashford and Fellaini were positive subs, with United using their height and aerial superiority to go more direct towards the Belgian duo of Fellaini and Lukaku, attempting to make the most of the set plays, where most red shirts towered above the black shirts of the Spanish side.

Both sides tried to utilise their pace in the wide areas, Bale drifted into the channels for Real to add further width to that offered by complete wing backs Marcelo and Carvajal, while Rashford drove directly at the Real right back, terrorising him, and matching him in the physical battles, a positive sign after a summer of beefing up.

Isco was the man of the moment. The key to everything, everyone in Madrid black constantly looked for him, as he caused carnage in the number 10 hole behind Benzema and Bale. His off the ball movement highlighted his mercurial talents, often overshadowed by that of Bale and Ronaldo. Despite the difficulty at marking him, it would have been sensible for Mourinho to stick either Matic or Herrera on him, possibly the Spaniard who would match his compatriot for pace as well as proving he can man mark like he did last term on Eden Hazard.

The advanced playmaker thoroughly deserved his goal, which was so well executed, and it was clear that United should have man marked him.

Herrera was non-existent, and his replacement Fellaini offered a more direct approach for United, which they utilised to maximum effect, leading to instant improvement against significantly weaker opposition than usual in physical terms.

United’s pressing was a good start for Mourinho, and he was obviously unhappy with the lethargic attitudes of closing down in the van Gaal era as well as the last campaign. The Portuguese will be disappointed at how defensive his set up was, but he needed to be against the stellar talents for Real going forward.

The Red Devils started slowly, but the significant improvement will surely be a positive sign going into their opening Premier League game against West Ham. Positive signs are on the horizon. It will surely just need patience and time.

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