Football: Madrid lift Spanish Super Cup

Beat Barcelona 2-1; claim win on away goals.

MADRID: Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka was a pleased man after his side beat 10-man Barcelona 2-1 to lift the Spanish Super Cup before a full house at the Santiago Bernabeu.

With last Thursday’s first-leg at Camp Nou having ended in a 3-2 Barca victory, Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo struck first-half goals as 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 archrivals Barca in La Liga after a draw and a loss in their first two league games.

“After all that, the result was a lot closer than we expected,” said Karanka. “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  was pleased with his players’ response after a tough start.

“I congratulate Madrid, but I felt proud of our performance with only 10 men,” said Vilanova.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2012.