Barcelona flagged-off their opening leg of the Spanish Super Cup on a miserable note as they slumped to a 3-1 loss in the hands of Champions League holders, Real Madrid at the Nou Camp on Sunday.
With star player, Cristiano Ronaldo sent off by the referee for possible diving, the 10-man Madrid still held on to carry the day as Marco Asensio’s 90th minute dazzling effort gave them a two-goal lead ahead of the second leg outing at Santiago Bernabeu.
The match, watched by a capacity crowd of 89,500 football fans, had both sides ending the first 45 minutes on a scoreless note. Parading no new signings, except the conspicuous absence of Neymar Jnr in Barcelona’s attack, the deadlock was then broken in the 50th minute through an own goal by Gerald Pique.
In the 77th minute, Argentine’s star, Lionel Messi levelled things up for the hosts following Keylor Navas foul on Luis Suarez in the penalty area.
However, with 10 minutes left of playing time, Ronaldo, a 68th minute substitute for Karim Benzema, netted a terrific second goal to put Real ahead.
But minutes later, the Portuguese got the marching order following a second yellow card; the first coming after he took his shirt to celebrate Madrid’s second goal on the night.
Reports hinted that going by his seeming fierce reaction towards the referee, the World’s best player may risk a longer spell on the side-lines if he is eventually charged for violent conduct.
