Manchester United lose to Los Blancos in the Skopje showpiece

The Red Devils lost the UEFA Super Cup final in Skopje 2-1 to Real Madrid. Jose Mourinho’s side played well, but Los Blancos were the better team.

Manchester United looked the stronger side in the opening minutes. Zinedine Zidane’s players then took the initiative and created plenty of chances before half-time. First they hit the bar from a corner, and then midfielder Casemiro put the ball past de Gea in the 24th minute. The goal was highly controversial, as the midfielder appeared to be offside.

Jose Mourinho tried a different approach in the second half, but Isco scored a fine goal after a one-two with Gareth Bale in the 52nd minute, which probably decided the game. A few minutes later the Welshman found himself in a good position in the box, but his shot came back off the bar.

Romelu Lukaku had to regret the biggest miss of the game. The Belgian forward had a chance immediately after Real Madrid’s second goal, but his shot from a few metres did not go in. Lukaku then scored from a similar position in the 62nd minute to bring United back into the game.

Perhaps Mourinho’s biggest mistake was the decision to play Marcus Rashford. The youngster had a poor game. He missed a one-on-one chance a few minutes after Lukaku’s goal and later took several free kicks that were well below standard.

Cristiano Ronaldo came on for the last 7 minutes of normal time, but the Portuguese star could not score against his former club. The forward had a free kick in added time, but his shot went wide.

The trophy was Real Madrid’s 4th in the competition, while Manchester United lost a Super Cup final for the 3rd time.

How the two clubs got to Skopje

The Super Cup brings together the winners of UEFA’s two main club competitions. Real Madrid had won the 2016-17 Champions League by beating Juventus 4-1 in the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 3 June 2017, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice. That victory made them the first club to retain the trophy in the Champions League era. Manchester United had qualified as Europa League winners after beating Ajax 2-0 in Stockholm in May 2017.

The match on 8 August 2017 at the Philip II Arena was the first UEFA final ever staged in North Macedonia, and 30,421 spectators attended. It was also the first time the two clubs had met in the Super Cup, although they had faced each other ten times in the European Cup and Champions League, with Real Madrid winning four of those matches, drawing four and losing two. Isco, scorer of the second goal, was named man of the match.

What the result meant

The win was Real Madrid’s second Super Cup in a row and their fourth in all. A year earlier, on 9 August 2016 at the Lerkendal Stadion in Trondheim, they had beaten Sevilla 3-2 after extra time, with Dani Carvajal scoring the winner in the 119th minute. For Manchester United it was a third defeat in the fixture, after 1999 and 2008, against a single win in 1991. There was one consolation: Lukaku, signed from Everton on 10 July 2017 for a reported initial £75 million, was making his debut for the club, and his goal in Skopje was his first competitive goal in a United shirt.

Zidane’s side went on to complete a remarkable European run that season. On 26 May 2018 Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final in Kyiv, becoming the first team since Bayern Munich between 1974 and 1976 to win three European Cups in a row. Five days later Zidane announced that he was stepping down as manager, saying the club needed a different voice.