Ronaldo scored two goals as Real Madrid beat Sevilla 2-0 to win the Uefa Super Cup
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo lifts the trophy after winning the UEFA Super Cup soccer match between Real Madrid and Sevilla in Cardiff City Stadium, in Cardiff, Wales, Tuesday (Photo: AP)
Cardiff (UK): Cristiano Ronaldo upstaged new teammates Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez and homecoming hero Gareth Bale as Real Madrid beat Sevilla 2-0 in Cardiff to win the Uefa Super Cup.
World Cup stars Kroos and Rodriguez were making their Real debuts, while Bale was returning to his hometown, but it was Ronaldo, characteristically, who hogged the spotlight with a brace in the Welsh capital on Tuesday.
The Portugal captain claimed a 30th-minute opener from Bale’s cross and then slammed home a second goal shortly after half-time to earn the European champions what could be the first of six trophies this season. “We knew this would be a complex game, but we played well and created goal-scoring opportunities,” said Ronaldo, who was named man of the match by his former Manchester United mentor Alex Ferguson.
On Kroos and Rodriguez, he added, “These are two crucial players for us. They played well and they helped the team win this important trophy.”
While 80-million-euro ($108 million) new recruit Rodriguez had a modest debut, Madrid’s new-look attack which cost roughly 310 million euros to assemble showed ominous flashes of quality.
With Kroos sitting in front of the back four and Rodriguez to his left in a 4-3-3 shape, Madrid quickly assumed control of the game. Bale and then Ronaldo, with a free-kick, saw efforts deflected narrowly off-target, before Bale’s outside-of-the-foot volley from a Rodriguez left-wing cross was blocked by a defender. A misplaced pass by Daniel Carvajal gave Sevilla winger Vitolo a chance to shoot at goal, obliging Iker Casillas to save at his near post, but Madrid were soon back on the front foot.
( Source : AFP )
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