Eintracht Frankfurt beaten by Real Madrid in Super Cup final
David Alaba and Karim Benzema scored the goals as Eintracht Frankfurt were edged out by Real Madrid in tonight's UEFA Super Cup final.
| Photo: Sven Mandel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Former Bayern player David Alaba broke the deadlock in the 37th minute, with Karim Benzema adding a second after the break to wrap up the win.
Eintracht could hardly have had a worse build-up to the game. Not only were Oliver Glasner's troops coming off an embarrassing 1-6 Bundesliga opening-day defeat against Bayern München – they also had to manage without Europa League 2021/22 player of the season Filip Kostic, with the Serbian wide man on the verge of joining Juventus.
But despite being heavy favorites, Real Madrid had to work hard in the first half against a Frankfurt side, who put in a much-improved performance from their thrashing against Bayern.
In fact, it was Frankfurt who created the game's first real chance 14 minutes into the game as Daichi Kamada was found in behind the Real Madrid defence and had a low left-footed shot parried by Thibaut Courtois.
Real Madrid nearly opened the scoring at the other end shortly after, but Tuta made a vital goal-line block to stop his Brazilian compatriot Vinicius Junior's shot from going in.
Courtois was then forced into making another fine save, beating away Ansgar Knauff's low finish, but it was Real Madrid who broke the deadlock after a spell of dominance, with David Alaba nodding in the opener after 37 minutes after Kevin Trapp was caught out of his goal.
Benzema came close to adding a second for Madrid four minutes later, but the Frenchman's shot flashed just wide of the post.
The Spanish favorites finished off the first half in dominant fashion, and they continued where they left off after the break, creating plenty of chances while conceding very few.
The Spanish capital club pushed for the second goal and were rewarded for their efforts when Karim Benzema joined the scoresheet with 65 minutes played, smashing in a first-time shot after a cut-back from Vinicius Junior.
Eintracht failed to threaten Carlo Ancelotti's troops in the remainder of the fixture, as Real Madrid deservedly cruised to their fifth UEFA Super Cup victory in history.