Real Madrid beat Manchester United to retain the UEFA Super Cup

Real Madrid defeated Manchester United 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup at the Philip II arena in Skopje, Macedonia early on Wednesday. Goals from Casemiro and Isco proved vital as a resilient Madrid held fort against the late surge by the English side. 

Casemiro opened the scoring in the 24th minute after a clinical pass by Modric saw the Brazilian free on the left who made good contact with the ball to slot it past De Gea. The Champions League Winners were arguably the better team in the first half with a dominant display at the midfield. United on the other hand were playing too risky, sitting deep and inviting pressure. 

The second half started right where the first half ended, with Madrid piling on more pressure before Isco scored a beautiful team goal in the 51st minute. The game looked over for the Europa League winners there. But it wasn't meant to be as Mourinho's side came back to the game with a goal from new signing Lukaku who tapped in the goal from close range. 

United had a plenty of chances including youngster Rashford who came pretty close to equalising at the 80 minute mark. Madrid defended well in the late minutes of the match to hold off pressure and eventually retain the Super Cup. 

At the onset of the new season, Madrid looks like they're going to pick off right where they left as Zinedine Zidane's men just can't seem to stop winning trophies. For United, even though a lot of positives can be drawn from this match, it still looks like a team in progress and this match could well be a reminder of the work left to do before reaching the likes of Madrid and Bayern.