Real Madrid clinched the Spanish Super Cup after defeating a blundering Barcelona 2-1 in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup at the Bernabeu.
Real, who lost to Barca 3-2 in the first leg at the Nou Camp, won their first trophy of the season on the away goals rule, after the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate.
Barcelona will be kicking themselves for the loss, because they really should not have conceded either of the Real goals. The opener was scored by Gonzalo Higuain for the home side, when the Argentine striker latched onto a missed clearance by Javier Macherano to slot home in the 10th minute.
Real, who had their tails up after the opener, then went 2-0 up, through another defensive mistake. An audacious back-heel from Ronaldo saw him get past a poor Gerard Pique, with the Portuguese international then biding his time, before scoring calmly past goalkeeper Victor Valdes five minutes later.
Real, who were in complete control, should have then made it 3-0, but Valdes saved brilliantly in a one-on-one situation against Higuain. Barca's woes were compounded when Adriano was sent off with a straight red card for a professional foul in the 28th minute.
However, against the run of play, Lionel Messi, who else, brought the away side back into the match by scoring from a brilliant free-kick at the stroke of half-time.
The second half saw some end-to-end action with Barcelona looking to get back their advantage, while Real looked to put the game to bed. Two new signings - Luka Modric and Alex Song - came on for Real and Barcelona respectively in the second half, with the duo getting their first taste of an El Clasico.
Modric will go home with a trophy after just his first game for the club, while Alex Song will have to wait some more time to win his first piece of silverware.
Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova was proud of his side's second-half display. "The first half was not like us, but the second half was one of my proudest nights with the team," Vilanova told reporters.
"With 10 men we controlled the game and had five clear chances. We never sit back, defend with 10 and try to hit on the counter. With our players, we always play the same way and did so in the second half."
Xavi also felt his side were unlucky to come away with nothing. "We have overcome the expulsion of Adriano and we could have won the Super Cup despite being down to ten men," the midfielder said.
