Real the team to beat, Barca in turmoil

MADRID: Real Madrid have outclassed Manchester United and Barcelona to collect two trophies before the season has begun, and Zinedine Zidane’s side show little sign of relenting as they begin their title defence at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.

Meanwhile, last year’s runners up Barcelona have been further shaken ahead of their opening game against Real Betis on Sunday by a knee injury to Luis Suarez that has ruled the Uruguayan striker out for four weeks. This piles more misery on the Catalans, who are still reeling from the departure of Neymar.

The two biggest sides in Spain are in contrasting frames of mind heading into the opening weekend, and not even Cristiano Ronaldo’s suspension from the first four Liga games for pushing a referee has dampened Real’s supreme confidence.

Instead, the Spanish and European champions appear less reliant on their Portuguese talisman heading into this season.

Ronaldo played only 24 of 180 minutes of Real’s resounding 5-1 aggregate win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. He was a late substitute in the European Super Cup triumph over United, yet Real produced a complete display characterised by their sturdy control in midfield and dominance of possession.

Their squad depth was underlined by the fact coach Zinedine Zidane was able to also leave out Gareth Bale and Isco in the second leg. Meanwhile, he watched Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez lead a three-pronged attack with Karim Benzema, with Toni Kroos and Croatian duo Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic giving their shaken Barca counterparts a lesson in passing.