Real Madrid beat Athletic 2-0 to claim Super Cup title

January 16, 2022 Real Madrid's David Alaba in action with Athletic Bilbao's Inaki Williams REUTERS

Real Madrid were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions after goals from Luka Modric and Karim Benzema earned them a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Real took the lead in the 38th minute after Rodrygo sprinted past two defenders before passing to Modric, who rifled a shot into the back of the net.

Benzema extended their lead in the second half with a penalty after the video assistant referee spotted a handball from Yeray Alvarez inside the area.

Real were reduced to 10 men three minutes from time after Eder Militao was sent off for a goalline handball.

Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois brilliantly stopped Raul Garcia's penalty kick with his left foot in the dying seconds.

After two exciting semi-finals, the final was a one-sided encounter, with Real Madrid completely dominating and never facing any real danger.

Real enjoyed the great majority of support from the 30,000 fans in the King Fahd Stadium, which was at 50% capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

France striker Karim Benzema had the backing of the Saudi supporters, but it was Modric's night.

Carlo Ancelotti had said in the buildup to the game that his side were the very essence of a counter-attacking team and on Sunday Modric and forward Rodrygo made their coach proud, with a perfectly executed counter to open the scoring.

Benzema has made a habit of scoring against Athletic and doubled the advantage from the spot with his 18th goal in 26 games against the Basque side, the most he has scored against one team in his career.

It was the 12th time Real had won the Spanish Super Cup, having claimed both editions of the competition in Saudi Arabia. Last year's edition, won by Athletic, was held in Spain due to the pandemic.