Real Madrid vs. Manchester United: Final score 2-1, Los Merengues win UEFA Super Cup

For the second consecutive year, Real Madrid has won the UEFA Super Cup and put themselves in position to pull off a record trophy haul. Los Merengues outplayed Manchester United for much of the match, and well deserved their 2-1 victory.

Casemiro got Los Merengues off to a fantastic start, putting his squad on the board first in the 24th minute. He made an uncharacteristic run forward during a pretty Madrid move, poking home a chipped pass by Dani Carvajal. Madrid doubled its lead just after halftime, through Isco. He scored in the 52nd minute after playing a gorgeous one-two exchange with Gareth Bale on the top of the box.

Romelu Lukaku had a terrible miss two minutes after that, but would go on to make up for it. In the 62nd minute, Keylor Navas spilled a shot by Nemanja Matic, and Lukaku was there to pounce on the rebound. It was Lukaku’s first competitive goal for United.

Following the Confederations Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo was given an extended break, so he hasn’t been in full training long. That kept him out of the starting lineup, but he entered the match in the 83rd minute, to huge applause. Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio also came off the bench for Los Merengues, and combined on a great late chance that David De Gea had to tip over the bar.

United never found their equalizer, with Marouane Fellaini having the best chance with a header on target in the 90th minute. The Red Devils will have to brush this off and prepare for their Premier League opener on Sunday, while Real Madrid has one more week to get ready for league play.

A big theme of this game was Casemiro getting more involved in the attack than usual. He earned a place in Zinedine Zidane’s plans by staying disciplined between midfield and defense, shielding the back line and always making the simple play, but the Brazilian is now expanding his game. His run and finish on the opening goal were excellent.

If Casemiro can operate as a complete box-to-box midfielder while making sure he doesn’t get caught out of position too often, it’s another threatening attacking element for Madrid’s opponents to deal with.

Real Madrid is a team full of players that just won a European Cup together, while United is still bedding in new talent. It showed in a big way on Tuesday. While Lukaku and Matic both showed flashes of brilliance, they weren’t always on the same page with their teammates. United especially struggled to make the right decisions on the counter-attack after winning the ball back from Madrid.

Victor Lindelöf had a rough day as well. While the Swede had some impressive tackles and interceptions, he also gave away quite a few fouls and had a couple of miscommunications with Chris Smalling.

Everyone playing for the Red Devils did enough good individual things to suggest they can be a positive contributor for a top-four team this season. And Jose Mourinho is clearly a good enough coach to bring them together. But they’re in serious need of a few more competitive games together.

There’s no indication other than tabloid grumblings that Ronaldo will leave Madrid this summer, nor is there reason to believe he’s not still one of the team’s best players. But the combination play between Karim Benzema, Isco and Bale will give Zidane confidence that his team won’t skip a beat if Ronaldo is injured or needs to rest for one game. Check out this exchange between the three on this goal.

It doesn’t get much sexier than that.