Real Madrid 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Real Madrid have secured their fourth trophy in 2022 after defeating Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup last night at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium.
Los Blancos were the heavily favoured side by the UEFA Super Cup 2022 odds for good reason, and they added more misery to Die Adler – who are fresh from a 6-1 mauling by Bayern Munich last Saturday evening.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men took the lead before half-time through David Alaba and the reigning La Liga champions maintained control after the break. Karim Benzema then went on to score another one for good measure.
With another fun match in the books, join SBOTOP as we recap last night’s noteworthy UEFA Super Cup 2022 highlights one by one.
Highlights of the game
Carlo Ancelotti used the same starting XI that won them the Champions League few months ago against Liverpool, but Oliver Glasner didn’t have the same luxury since his team was missing one of their key stars.
Filip Kostic, who was crucial to Eintracht Frankfurt’s Europa League triumph last season, was absent since he just completed his signing and medical over at Turin after agreeing to terms with Juventus earlier this week.
But lest you think that Eintracht Frankfurt were discouraged, they still managed to put up a valiant stand against the Champions League winners during the early stages of the match.
Daichi Kamada looked on his way to score the first goal of the match at the 14th minute when he raided past multiple Real defenders. However, Thibaut Courtois was there to bail out Real Madrid with a fine save.
Then three minutes later, it was Real Madrid’s turn to be on the break, but Vinicius Junior’s goal-bound shot was cleared off the line by Almamy Toure.
After those exchanges, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, and Luka Modric then took over the midfield by controlling possession for Real Madrid and left Eintracht Frankfurt chasing shadows.
Eight minutes before half-time, Casemiro found an open David Alaba via a header for a cool finish to draw first blood following a corner kick.
Los Blancos forced another save from Kevin Trapp 10 minutes after the half-time break as the Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper parried away a deflected ball from Vinicius Junior before Casemiro hit the woodwork from the edge of the box two minutes later.
Die Adler’s last great opportunity for the equaliser came at the 64th minute, but Courtois was there once more to snuff out Ansgar Knauff’s attempt inside the box.
The said missed opportunity cost Eintracht Frankfurt dearly as Karim Benzema scored Real Madrid’s second a minute later – his 324th goal for Los Blancos – which put the game away for good.
Key statistics
Karim Benzema continues to climb the scoring charts after netting against Eintracht Frankfurt yesterday as he surpassed Raul’s mark of 323 goals. The only man in front of him now for the top spot is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 450.
Prior to winning the UEFA Super Cup, Real Madrid are having a fruitful 2022 as they’ve also won the Champions League, La Liga, and Supercopa de Espana.
Winning big matches has been a norm for Los Blancos because they’ve won an astounding 17 of their last 19 finals that they’ve played in since 2013. Yesterday’s victory extends Real Madrid’s unbeaten streak to 32 consecutive matches when leading at half-time.
Carlo Ancelotti, their genius at the helm, added another piece of silverware to his large trophy collection. He is now the most successful coach in the UEFA Super Cup history with four titles – twice with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007 and twice with Real Madrid in 2014 and this year.
The Italian is also the first manager to win a league title in each of Europe’s top five divisions and also the first to win four Champions League finals. Ancelotti has also tied with Luis Molowny for the third-most trophies won in Real Madrid history.
What’s next?
Real Madrid are poised to kick off their La Liga campaign in style since they have three winnable matches to begin with. They’ll take on newly-promoted side Almeria on Sunday before visiting Celta Vigo and Espanyol to wrap up the month of August.
Last season’s fifth-seed Real Betis are going to be the defending champions’ first true challenge and their match is on September 3.
On the other hand, Eintracht Frankfurt are off to a woeful start since they’re on a two-game losing streak. After losing to Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, Die Adler have to dust themselves off upon facing Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
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