Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona: Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema seal 5-1 aggregate win
Los Blancos secure easy victory over sorry Barca at the Bernabeu.
- Karim Benzema doubled lead five minutes before half-time.
- Marco Asensio opened this scoring from 30 yards out after five minutes.
A string of chances for Barcelona! Suarez shows quick feet to shuffle the ball into Roberto inside the box but his effort is kept out by Navas. He is onto the loose ball however and works it back to Messi who fires back towards goal. Navas makes the save, but spills it to Suarez who looks for the near corner with a stooping header, only to be denied by the post. Its not their night.
Too easy for Real Madrid, they are just looking so much quicker than Barcelona at the moment. Busquets loses possession, allowing Asensio to pounce and move the ball wide to Marcelo. He dribbles a ball across goal and Umtiti takes an age to get to it, with Benzema coming from around the back of him to get their first and ping a half volley home.
Real are looking in the mood. Modric wins possession and quickly shuffles it on for Marcelo who clips a wonderful ball through for Vasquez who bears down on goal, dropping a few step overs as he tries to shake Pique. Support comes in the form of Kroos and Vazquez finds him, but the German scuffs his shot for once and fails to find the target.
Barcelona try to press Real into a mistake at the back but the home side keep their cool, elegantly passing their way out from the back before Kovacic steps it up a gear and drives up field, freeing Marcelo out on the left. He advances menacingly down the inside channel and cuts a dangerous ball across the face of goal but none of his teammates have managed to keep up with him.
It took 10 minutes for Messi to get his first meaningful touch on the ball this evening but he is looking a little more lively now, weaving his way past a series of challenges before ushering the ball wide for Roberto. He returns the ball to the Argentine who jinks inside the box but Keylor Navas, showing no hesitation despite giving away that penalty on Sunday, is out snatch the ball from his feet.
Real Madrid fans were never likely to let Gerard Pique forget about his own goal on Sunday. But they had more ammunition to unload on the Spain international when he arrived in Madrid today.
AS report the centre-half was greeted with shouts of "se queda" as he left the team hotel - a reference to his "he stays" post on Instagram predicting the Brazil international would remain at the Nou Camp. Good work.
Looks like Ernesto Valverde will experiment with a back three of Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano and Samuel Umtiti tonight with Jordi Alba and Sergio Roberto serving as wing backs.
Andre Gomes comes into that midfield and with Andres Iniesta missing out tonight due to injury, he sits in there alongside Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Bsquets. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi start as a front two up front.
Zinedine Zidane makes three changes to the side that won at the Nou Camp three days ago. As expected, Luka Modric comes back into the starting XI but not to replace Mateo Kovačić. Instead, the two Croatians start together in midfield with Casemiro dropping to the bench.
Gareth Bale and Isco are also handed a rest with Lucas Vasquez and Marco Asensio, the latter who netted that tremendous strike in the last minute on Sunday, into the starting XI.
Team news: Real Madrid
Isco has been named in Zinedine Zidane's last two starting XIs ahead of Ronaldo who has only recently returned to training following his delayed summer break. On Sunday, the Spaniard was deployed just behind the front two of Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, excelling in that role and leading Barcelona on a merry dance for much of the match.
With Ronaldo out of the equation, Zidane could opt for the same starting XI, although Luka Modric's availability once again following his suspension could prompt a change in the middle of the park. Marco Asensio, who bettered Ronaldo's strike on Sunday with one of his own, may also be pushing for a start.
Team news: Barcelona
As mentioned, Andres Iniesta misses out this evening due to injury. The Barcelona skipper made the starting line-up in the first leg after being selected alongside Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic in midfield but was replaced in the second half by Sergi Roberto.
Barcelona confirmed today it's a muscle problem that is keeping the Spaniard out. Rafinha Alcantara and Thomas Vermaelen (shockingly) are also unavailable.
Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed perhaps one of the best footballing cameos in recent memory on Sunday night. Not necessarily for him, but for the rest of us watching on. In the space of 23 frenetic minutes, the reigning Ballon d'Or emerged from the Real Madrid bench to a chorus of boos before subsequently silenced said boos with a superb goal, whipping off his shirt in celebration, as one does.
Having shrugged off the yellow card thrown his way for stripping off, a minute later he burst through on goal before going down inside the Barcelona box. A penalty? Nope, a free kick for Barcelona for simulation, prompting Ronaldo's second yellow in the space of a minute. Ronaldo didn't take too kindly to a red card being flashed in his direction, giving referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea a push for daring to go against him.
The end result? A comfortable 3-1 win for Real but a five-game ban for Ronaldo. The 31-year-old did start from the bench on Sunday and in the European Super Cup win over Manchester United last week however, which bodes well for Zinedine Zidane's side seeing out a win tonight.
Barcelona have an absentee of their own to deal with tonight in the form of captain Andres Iniesta. We will have all your team news in full coming up shortly.
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