Real Madrid win all-Spanish UEFA Super Cup
Right-back Dani Carvajal was the unlikely hero for Real Madrid, scoring the 119thminute winner as the Champions League winners beat Europa League holders Sevilla 3-2 in Trondheim, Norway, to claim the UEFA Super Cup.
The victory, played out in rainswept conditions at Rosenborg’s Lerkendal Stadion, was the second European trophy for Real coach Zinedine Zidane since he took over in January.
The European champions took the lead through Marco Asensio, who became the club’s youngest scorer in a European Final with a stunning long-range shot. The impressive 20-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Espanyol, took his chance in a team which featured only four of the starting line-up from May’s victorious game in Milan. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale were among those rested after their Euro 2016 exertions, while Zidane elected to leave Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez on the bench.
Sevilla equalised through Franco Vazquez, a summer signing from Palermo, who fired home through a crowded penalty area.
Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos, who began his career with Sevilla, turned out to be both a hero and villain in the second half. The defender tripped Sevilla winger Vitolo for a penalty that was converted by substitute Yevhen Konoplyanka but then, in the 93rd minute, he arrived unmarked in the six-yard box to head home and send the game into extra-time.
Sevilla saw Timothee Kolodziejczak sent off early in the extra period, but Real failed to take advantage, with Rodriguez missing two good chances.
The match looked like going to penalties until Carvajal’s late strike. The full-back, who missed Spain’s Euro 2016 campaign after getting injured in the Champions League Final, ran all the way into the Sevilla area before firing home.
Sevilla, who were playing under new boss Jorge Sampaoli, had also lost in the previous year’s Super Cup, losing 5-4 to Barcelona.
Zidane, who was soaked with water by his players during the post-match celebrations, said: “In football you never know what’s going to