Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo scores and sent off
Cristiano Ronaldo scored and was then sent off as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in the Spanish Super Cup first leg.
Gerard Pique slid Marcelo's cross into his own net before Lionel Messi levelled from a penalty.
Ronaldo, who was a substitute, restored Real's lead when he ran from halfway before smashing an effort home.
He
was booked for taking off his shirt to celebrate and shown a second
yellow shortly after for a dive - before Marco Asensio scored an
excellent third.
Ronaldo felt he should have had a penalty when he
went down under pressure from Samuel Umtiti, and appeared to shove the
referee in the back after he was shown the red card.
Ronaldo's eventful cameo
Cristiano Ronaldo missed most of pre-season after his participation in the Confederations Cup with Portugal |
Even for a player who has been so prominent in El Clasico contests,
the 24 minutes Ronaldo spent on the pitch were unusually eventful.
Having
started on the bench, as he did for the Uefa Super Cup win over
Manchester United, he was introduced in the 58th minute with his side
leading 1-0.
He watched on as Messi levelled the scores before
scoring a typically brilliant goal himself, cutting inside and curling
home an unstoppable effort from the edge of the box.
To celebrate, he removed his shirt and flexed his muscles, earning himself a booking.
Two
minutes later, he tumbled in the box after going shoulder to shoulder
with Umtiti and was adjudged to have dived by the referee, who duly gave
the Portuguese a second yellow, followed by a red card.
Barca had
10 minutes to find another equaliser, but instead it was the 10 men of
Real who struck again as Asensio added to his growing reputation with a
superb strike into the top corner from 25 yards.
The 21-year-old
has now scored on his La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League, UEFA
Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup debut for Real.
Barca struggle without Neymar
Gerard Deulofeu returned to Barcelona from Everton this summer |
Having broken up their famed 'MSN' strike-force through the
summer-sale of Neymar to Paris St-Germain for £200m, Barcelona started
Gerard Deulofeu in attack alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
As his predecessor on the left wing made a goal-scoring start to life in France, former Everton player Deulofeu struggled to make a compelling case to be the Brazilian's long-term replacement in Spain.
He
had one glorious chance to make an impression but wasted it, firing a
shot across goal and wide from inside the box. He was replaced by Denis
Suarez shortly after.
If Barca have their way, he will soon find himself down the pecking order, possibly behind Philippe Coutinho.
The
need for attacking reinforcements at the Nou Camp is obvious. Messi and
Suarez were lively and combined for the penalty - the Uruguayan winning
it, when he tumbled easily under a challenge from Real keeper Keylor
Navas, with the Argentine converting.
But elsewhere it is a mix of
lesser talent and young potential not yet ready to play such a major
role for a side with lofty ambition at home and abroad.
BBC
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