Real Madrid down Frankfurt to win Super Cup
Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 to win the 2022 UEFA Super Cup at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium on Wednesday night as Karim Benzema moved past Raul into second on the Spanish club’s all-time scoring list behind leader Cristiano Ronaldo.
The sides traded good chances in the early stages of the annual match between the winner of the Champions and Europa Leagues, with Thibaut Courtois doing well to snuff out Daichi Kamada‘s chance for Frankfurt on the break and Vinicius Junior‘s goal-bound shot for Madrid swept off the line by Almamy Toure.
– Kirkland: Real Madrid start season right where they left off
– LaLiga Preview: Can anyone compete with Barca, Madrid?
– ESPN+ viewers’ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more
Carlo Ancelotti’s LaLiga winners took the lead shortly before half-time through David Alaba, who tapped home from close range after Casemiro headed the ball back in front of a wide-open goal following a corner kick.
Real stayed in control after the break, forcing another good save from Kevin Trapp in the 55th minute, knocking away a deflected Vinicius shot before Casemiro rattled the crossbar with a strike from the edge of the box two minutes later.
Benzema added Madrid’s second in the 65th minute — his 324th goal for Los Blancos — and Real saw out the rest of the match with little threat from their Bundesliga opponents.
“He’s a very important player, a team leader,” Ancelotti said. “If we’re here it’s largely due to his merits, he scored a lot of goals, he finished the season well, he scored a goal today and now he’s going for the Ballon d’Or award.”
The victory means Ancelotti becomes the first coach to lift the trophy four times. The Italian had named the same starting 11 that began their winning Champions League final in Paris in May.
“Eintracht were very closed and we found it difficult to find our rhythm, but we did it well then,” Ancelotti said. “It’s difficult at the beginning of the season to be in top form but we now have won to start the season well.”
Eintracht were without playmaker Filip Kostic who is close to a move to Juventus, but looked more disciplined than in their 6-1 loss to Bayern Munich last week in their Bundesliga season opener.
The win brought Real level with AC Milan and Barcelona who have also five Super Cup wins.
Madrid open LaLiga play on Sunday away to Almeria, while Frankfurt play their second match of the season in Germany‘s top flight on the road against Hertha Berlin.