FC Barcelona’s slim hopes of catching Real Madrid evaporated Wednesday after just four minutes.
The teams’ Spanish Super Cup second-leg game burst to life on Marco Asensio’s rocket goal from around 35 yards out.
Asensio’s strike gave Real Madrid the lead in the game and extended its aggregate advantage to 4-1, all but killing Barcelona’s comeback chances. Real Madrid went to win 2-0 and lift the Super Cup, Spanish soccer’s first available trophy of the 2017-18 season, courtesy of its 5-1 aggregate victory.
Having won last season’s La Liga (Spanish League) and UEFA Champions League titles, Real Madrid enters the new campaign unquestionably holding bragging rights over Barcelona, its eternal rival.
After presiding over Real Madrid from 2006 to 2016, Barcelona captain Gerard Pique admits his team now is second-best among the Spanish soccer giants.
“This a long process and there is room for improvement, but in the nine years that I have been here, it is the first time that I feel inferior to Madrid,” Pique said after the Super Cup loss, per the Guardian. “We are not in the best moment, either as a team or as a club. We must stay as close as possible and keep moving forwards.”
At the heart of the power shift is Asensio, a 21-year-old whom Barcelona rejected in 2014 in favor of older, more expensive targets.
Real Madrid later signed Asensio, and he’s now leading a new generation of stars who are helping write a new chapter in their team’s storied history.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
