European champions Real Madrid beat Europa League winners Manchester United 2-1 on Tuesday evening to win the 2017 UEFA Super Cup.
The two sides, who met as recently as last month in the International Champions Cup pre-season tournament, battled hard in the humid conditions in Macedonia.
Casemiro gave Los Blancos the lead with a lovely volley, albeit from an offside position, with Isco, who was absolutely phenomenal, doubling the lead in the 52nd minute.
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Jose Mourinho’s men fought hard in the second half, with Romelu Lukaku pulling one back, but for large periods, Real proved that the Red Devils remain a level behind them in terms of class and quality.
Following the Super Cup clash in Macedonia, we examine whether any Man United players would get into Real’s double-winning current starting XI under Zinedine Zidane.
What is Real’s starting XI?
Most people can agree on what Zizou’s most preferred line-up is, with the only real debate over Gareth Bale, stemming from Isco’s sublime run of form.
Keylor Navas starts in goal, behind a back four of Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, captain Sergio Ramos and influential left-back Marcelo.
In front of them is a midfield trio of the defensive-minded Casemiro, Real’s new number ten Luka Modric and German maestro Toni Kroos, with a front three of either Isco or Bale, Karim Benzema and, of course, reigning World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo.
David de Gea
David de Gea came incredibly close to joining Madrid back in 2015, but since then, he’s firmly established himself as the best goalkeeper in the world alongside Manuel Neuer.
The 26-year-old took over from the legendary Iker Casillas as Spain’s number one, and he would certainly get into Madrid’s starting XI ahead of Navas.
De Gea produced some very good reaction saves in the Super Cup, while the much-improved Navas did seem to be wrong-footed by Nemanja Matic’s effort which led to Lukaku’s goal.
Paul Pogba
As it stands, Paul Pogba can’t touch Kroos or Modric when it comes to awareness and decision-making, but he definitely possesses the capabilities to play for Real.
His attributes are there for all to see; power, vision, energy, technical ability, but for all his quality, the Frenchman needs to provide more goals and assists.
In the Super Cup, Pogba was tenacious and worked hard, but again struggled to make a telling impact in a big match – his doubters’ biggest criticism of him.
It’s unlikely he would start for Real, given Casemiro’s discipline and the world-class playmakers in front of him, but at 24, you could see Pogba being the world’s best central midfielder one day.
Would any other Man Utd stars get into Real’s XI?
Eric Bailly adapted tremendously well after swapping Spain for England last season, but right now, he still finds himself behind Varane and Ramos.
That said, the Ivorian is only 23 (Varane and Ramos are 24 and 31 respectively) and is on his way to becoming a top defender, so you could conceivably see him being at that level one day.
Even though Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a natural number ten, with Cristiano operating centrally, Bale is probably the only winger at Madrid better than the Armenian.
Say what you want about Lukaku’s flaws, but no one can argue that the 24-year-old gets goals, boasting an impressive career tally of 146 goals in 318 games.
Despite that ratio, the Belgian has an extremely long way to go before he can even enter the conversation of being among the world’s best strikers, and the Super Cup showed that.
The £75 million man needs to be smarter on the pitch and more clinical if he wants to fire United to success, but he did mark his competitive United debut with a goal, so let’s cut him some slack.
Marcus Rashford wouldn’t get into Real’s current starting XI, but if the 19-year-old manages to fulfil his massive potential in the years to come, the forward will be a global superstar.
United trying to close gap to Madrid
Madrid and Man United have won lots of honours between them of late, but of course, the nature of those trophies have been extremely different.
United’s 2-0 Europa League final victory over Ajax meant ex-Real manager Mourinho won two trophies and the Community Shield in his first season at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Madrid dethroned rivals Barcelona as La Liga champions and became the first-ever side to successfully defend the Champions League in the modern era.
Following Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain, Real will be favourites to retain the Spanish title, whilst United aim to improve on a disappointing sixth-placed Premier League finish.
The 2017-18 domestic campaign kicks off this weekend, and while Madrid remain the team to beat, the Super Cup will prove helpful for Man Utd as they look to re-establish themselves as a power in Europe’s premier club competition once again.
Do YOU think any Man Utd players are good enough to play for Real? Have YOUR say in the comments box below!