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Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-0 in the 2nd leg of the Supercopa de Espana, to lift the trophy over two legs with an aggregate scoreline of 5-1.
In a comprehensive dismantling of Barcelona, Los Blancos looked comfortable throughout, witht Marco Asensio opening the scoring in the 4th minute, while Karim Benzema doubled the lead in the 39th minute.
Here's how the players rated:
Real Madrid
Keylor Navas - 7/10
The Costa Rican goalkeeper put in an assured showing in goal, as is the norm for him against Barcelona. Navas was alert and eager to come off his line, once denying Messi by smothering the ball at his feet with the score at 1-0. He kept out the Argentinian with a smart save yet again in the second half.
Dani Carvajal 7/10
The Spaniard was extremely energetic in both the attacking and defensive phases of play. He made a couple of important headed interceptions at the back, while constantly offering himself as an option going forward, dovetailing well with Lucas Vazquez.
Sergio Ramos - 6.5/10
The Real Madrid captain looked a bit rusty early on, when a slip in the box nearly had catastrophic results only for his keeper to bail him out. There were a couple of misplaced passes, but those were balanced by some excellent marking and tackles. A needless minor tiff with Leo Messi could have backfired, but then again that is what makes Ramos, Ramos.
Raphael Varane - 7.5/10
The Frenchman looked the more assured defender, playing out from tight spaces at the back with remarkable composure. Varane also showed great recovery pace to deal with the through balls to Luis Suarez and made a couple of important blocks to goal-bound shots in the box.
Marcelo 7.5/10
The Brazilian is the best left back in the world, and underlined why with a performance that was equally good going forward and while defending. Marcelo tormented Sergi Roberto in the first half, and got on the assists chart with a well-placed low cross for Karim Benzema in the box. He dealt well with Barca's threat down the right in the second half.
Mateo Kovacic - 8/10
The Croatian is far too good to be backup to Casemiro. It was a little surprising to see him come off on the hour mark, as he'd been one of Real Madrid's best players on the pitch. The number of times he managed to wriggle out from tight spaces with a smart pirouette was crucial in Madrid's ability to transition into attack.
Toni Kroos - 7.5/10
The German does everything to such perfection that the rare blemish does stand out. Kroos was a bit more adventurous in his passing than normal, which didn't always come off. He ought to have gotten on the scoresheet though, after miscuing a cutback in the box.
Luka Modric - 8.5/10
The conductor to Real Madrid's brilliant orchestra, Barcelona simply could not cope with the Croatian as he roamed all over the pitch, requiring the Catalans to foul him with regularity. Modric repeatedly negated Barca's defensive block with a piercing pass forward, while a lovely chip & turn to bamboozle Andre Gomes will be replayed over and over again.
Lucas Vazquez - 8/10
The Real Madrid winger is usually content to come off the bench over the course of the season, but on the back of this display, is seriously knocking on Zidane's door for game time. Vazquez displayed superb dribbling in tight spaces, which usually ended with great crossing. He toyed with Jordi Alba positionally and was unlucky to hit the post.
Karim Benzema - 9/10
The perfect definition of a modern striker, Benzema's contributions do go unnoticed by his own fans at times. The Frenchman's incessant pressing right from the off unsettled Barca at the back, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Benzema constantly made great runs to open up spaces for Asensio and Vazquez, and his goal was a brilliant bit of predatory instinct in the box, stealing ahead of his marker and finishing with aplomb.
Marco Asensio - 8.5/10
Paris St-Germain may have triggered the wrong release clause. Asensio is all set to explode this season, and thus give Zidane a real headache to accommodate him and BBC over the course of the season. The opening goal in the 4th minute was characteristic of the young Spaniard, rocketing into the top corner. He did fade a little in the second half, but remained a thorn in Barca's side throughout.
Substitutes
Casemiro - 6.5/10
The Brazilian came on and kept things tidy, although a couple of fouls and misplaced passes dented Madrid's ability to attack.
Dani Ceballos - 6/10
The youngster looked assured in possession, without doing too much with the ball.
Theo Hernandez - 6.5/10
The left back was full of running in the few minutes he was afforded on the pitch and even sent in a couple of tempting crosses.
Barcelona
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen - 5.5/10
The German keeper should have done better with Asensio's admittedly great strike from range, but stood rooted to the spot as it dipped under the bar. He couldn't do much for the second goal, while denying Benzema with a great save early in the second half.
Javier Mascherano - 5.5/10
The Argentine looked uncomfortable with his role in the 3-man defence, and had to constantly cover for Sergi Roberto. A couple of well-placed chipped passes going forward were offset by Mascherano losing possession repeatedly, including one which nearly resulted in a goal for Vazquez.
Gerard Pique - 5/10
The Spanish captain looked incredibly rusty, and kept getting dragged out of position by Benzema, with Pique left unsure of how to occupy defensive spaces with 3 at the back. Looking so inferior to Madrid and the 'se queda' chants must have hurt him more than the thigh injury with which he came off soon into the second half.
Samuel Umtiti 4/10
The Frenchman had a nightmare at the back, and was at fault for both goals. A poor clearance gifted Asensio the space to wreak havoc, while he allowed Benzema to ghost past him for the second. He did block a couple of shots in the first half, but his normally assured passing was non-existent.
Sergi Roberto - 5/10
Despite the presence of Marcelo, Roberto was caught upfield multiple times in the first half. He struggled to deal with Asensio and ought to have been booked for tugging him back. As soon as Nelson Semedo came on, Roberto looked much improved, and came close to scoring with a couple of well timed runs into the box in the second half.
Jordi Alba - 4.5/10
The Spaniard looks a shadow of the player he was just two seasons ago. He was unable to deal with the twin threats of Carvajal and Vazquez, with predictable results. Alba was found on the overlap in the second half more often, but failed to put in a telling cross on more than one occasion.
Sergio Busquets - 3.5/10
Unrecognizable from the player who was the best in the world in his position - Busquets was harassed into losing position multiple times and looked lost in the blur of Madrid's midfield rotational three. Barcelona's defensive pivot also lost the ball in midfield that led to the second goal, and things did not improve - he was the Blaugrana's worst player on the pitch. Paulinho may not seem such a bad buy right now.
Ivan Rakitic - 5/10
The Croatian was harassed into losing possession as well, but he did try to create things going forward, with a much-improved performance in the second half. However, he still looks unable to replace the energy he displayed in the 2014/15 season, and Barca need another body in midfield of a similar ilk.
Andre Gomes - 4.5/10
The much-maligned Portuguese midfielder looked bereft of ideas with the ball at his feet, thus stunting any transitions into attack. He did make a couple of late runs into the box, where a better pass may have resulted in a goal, but overall, Gomes' contribution was minimal at best.
Luis Suarez - 5.5/10
The Barcelona forward had one of those days - he should have gotten on the scoresheet in the second half with a diving header but watched in agony as it hit the post. Suarez was full of running and did look like the only Barcelona player who believed in a comeback while the rest of his teammates had already given up the ghost.
Lionel Messi - 5/10
It's not often that Messi gets such a low rating, even when Barcelona are disappointing. The Argentine wizard tried to do too much, often attempting to force his way through midfield when there was a simple pass to Suarez available. He did hit the crossbar when it looked incredibly difficult to score.
Substitutes
Nelson Semedo - 5.5/10
The Portuguese fullback made his Barcelona debut in difficult circumstances but immediately looked an improvement over Ernesto Valverde's current options. Semedo was eager to get forward at every opportunity, although still needs to come to terms with his teammates' wavelength.
Gerard Deulofeu - 4/10
The Barca product was brought back to make up the numbers, and it seems that will also be his contribution on the pitch. He held on to the ball for way too long in promising positions, and looks alien in Barcelona's frontline.
Luca Digne - 4.5/10
The Frenchman replaced Jordi Alba, but did not look much of an improvement, barely offering anything going forward.
