Real Madrid 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt summary: score, goals, highlights, UEFA Super Cup

Real Madrid 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt: match summary

(Reuters) - Champions League winners Real Madrid outclassed Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 on Wednesday to clinch the UEFA Super Cup for a record-equalling fifth time.

A first half goal from David Alaba and another from Karim Benzema in the 65th that lifted him to second in Real's all-time scoring list with 324 goals, wrapped up the title for the Spaniards.

Europa League winners Eintracht had offered some resistance in the first half and had chances to score but were eventually overrun by the Spaniards.

The win also means Real's Carlo Ancelotti becomes the first coach to lift the trophy four times.

The Italian had named the same starting 11 that began their winning Champions League final in Paris in May.

Eintracht were without playmaker Filip Kostic who is close to a move to Juventus, but looked more disciplined than in their 6-1 loss to Bayern Munich last week in their Bundesliga season opener.

They also carved out the first chance of the game when Daichi Kamada broke clear but could not beat Real keeper Thibaut Courtois with his low drive in the 14th minute.

Real responded three minutes later but Vinicius Jr's effort was cleared on the line by Tuta. Eintracht keeper Kevin Trapp did well to palm another Vinicius Jr effort wide.

The keeper, however, misjudged a cross in the 37th and was well out of position when Casemiro headed on for Alaba and the Austrian tapped in from close range for the lead.

Real stayed in control after the break, forcing another good save from Trapp in the 55th, knocking away a deflected Vinicius Jr shot before Casemiro rattled the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the box two minutes later.

The pressure eventually paid off when Vinicius Jr combined with Benzema and the French forward slotted in to kill off any lingering Eintracht hopes of a first ever Super Cup title.

The win brought Real level with AC Milan and Barcelona who have also five Super Cup wins.

And there is the whistle! Madrid win the 2022 UEFA Super Cup, their fifth title in history and they are now level with Barcelona and AC Milan as the most successful clubs in the competition's history.

Madrid are running down the clock at the back and it's all over bar the whistle...

Rodrygo gets away down the right but fires into the side netting from an acute angle.

Alario finds his way into the book for a late challenge on Tchouameni.

Three minutes will be added in Helsinki.

Frankfurt continue to push through Knauff's industry on the right but the white shirts are back in force now and there is no way through for the Europa League champions.

Another free out on the right as Alaba floors Muani. It's straight out on the far side though under the watchful eye of Courtois.

Triple change from Ancelotti as Ceballos, Tchouameni and Rüdiger come on for Vinicius, Kroos and Carvajal.

It's not a bad delivery from Götze but a little too strong for Ndicka, who can't keep it in play.

Frankfurt will have a chance from a free kick in a decent position after Camavinga concedes a foul.

Should Madrid go on to win this evening, they will have been successful in 14 of the last 15 finals they have contested.

Kroos sportingly knocks the ball out as Muani goes down after a challenge. The former Nantes forward is back on his feet quickly enough though.

Valverde heads off for Madrid after another decent performance on the right of the front three, Camavinga comes on to shore things up a little more in midfield.

Madrid frustrate Frankfurt with a spell of kncoking it around the back four as they seek to take the remaining sting out of their opponent's tail.

Madrid have their tails up now and want to put this to bed. Valverde does well on the right to tee up Rodrygo, who has been lively since coming on, but Frankfurt manage to clear.

Another change for Frankfurt as Touré heads off for Lucas Alario, Glasner electing to send on another out and out striker to chase the game.

Ancelotti decides there's no need to ask any more of Luka Modric and sends Rodrygo on in his place.

Vinicius springs the Frankfurt offside trap on the left and tees up his strike partner for a close range effort to make it 2-0. That will take sopme coming back from for the German side now.

Knauff twists and turns in the area to set up a shooting chance but Courtois is there to deal with it.

Casemiro! He's been known to land those and the Brazilian hits the bar with a ferocious shot from the edge of the area.

Benzema shows some glorious vision in midfield to release Valverde, whose deflected shot is easy enough for Trapp to deal with.

Changes for Frankfurt as Rode and Lindstrøm make way for Götze and Randal Kolo Muani.

Trapp! Great save from the Germany stopper as Vinicius hits a shot on the turn. He didn't have long to react and makes a smart snap save.

The flag is up against Lindstrøm now. He's come out on fire in this second half and is Frankfurt's chief threat at the moment.

Lindstrøm gets the better of Alaba and Casemiro but the latter recovers enough to divert the Dane's attempted cross into the path of Courtois, who gathers.

Militão, who is having another excellent game, guides Santos Borré away from the ball and averts danger again.

No changes from either side at half time from the looks of things.

We're back underway in Helsinki!

A few half time stats: Madrid have now chalked up eight shots to Frankfurt's four and have seen 64.4% of the ball in the opening half while completing 90% of their passes to Eintracht's 82%.

And there's the whistle! Madrid have not had it all their own way by any means in the opening 45 but they head into the break 1-0 up courtesy of Alaba's strike.

Just the one minute added in Helsinki.

Benzema is caught offside as Kroos sends a free kick over the top of the Frankfurt defence.

It's raining Madrid chances now as both Benzema and Casemiro send  in decent efforts. Frankfurt will be happy to get in at half time to regroup.

Kroos delivers the corner from the previous save and Benzema arches a header towards goal. Casemiro does brilliantly to glance it back towards the penalty spot and Alaba is there to sweep it home unmarked.

Vinicius! Great strike from the Brazilian and Trapp is forced into a smart, low save.

Frankfurt carve another hole in Madrid's back line with some quick passing and once again Militão is forced to race across to cover.

Frankfurt are pushing now and Ancelotti is frantic on the touchline as his defence fail to pick up a lone black shirt at a corner. The Madrid back four are not positioning themselves well at the moment and the Bundesliga side are finding space on the attack.

Benzema smiles ruefully as he's involved in a tussle with Tuta on the byline and feels the Brazilian got a bit too much of his shirt but the match officials aren't interested.

Carvajal and Christopher Lenz are involved in aerial collision and the Frankfurt defender comes off worse but looks as though he'll be ok to continue.

It's been a pretty lively opening 25 and Frankfurt are a little surprisingly ahead on the shot count with two so far to Madrid's one.

Nice interplay between Kamada and Lindstrøm plays the Dane in but Militão is across like a whippet to block the shot.

There's a bit of a lull as Madrid attempt to get their feet on the ball and control possession for a bit.

Off the line! Benzema fashions a chance for Vinicius and the Brazilian thinks he's scored but Tuta appears from nowhere to hack the ball away.

Kroos delivers a wonderful ball with the outside of his boot but it's just a little too strong for the onrushing Mendy and Trapp scoops up the danger.

Kamada! A glorious ball from midfield sends the Japan international through but Courtois makes a solid save. Frankfurt have not come to sit back as much as it might have appeared and are looking very dangerous on the quick transition breaks.

Jesper Lindstrøm gets clear and warms the gloves of Courtois with a decent effort but the flag is up. No need for the fancy new tech there, the Dane was clearly off.

Santos Borré tries to chase down a hopeful ball forward but Courtois scampers out to gather. It's going to be a lonely furrow being ploughed up top for the Colombian this evening. 

Valverde wins the first corner of the game, Kroos trots over to take but the German sends his delivery over the heads of everybody in the area and Frankfurt clear.

Vinicius thinks he's away but the ref pulls him back for a foul on Djibril Sow. The Brazilian is sitting on the shoulders of the German defence looking for a loose ball to latch on to.

Frankfurt are sitting well back in the opening exchanges, happy to soak up Madrid's pressure.

We're underway! A wall of Frankfurt fans immediately start booing Madrid's every touch. They do take a few on the road with them.

And Frankfurt's.

Here's a quick reminder of the line-ups this evening.

A bit of a song and dance on the pitch and the teams are in the tunnel now. Benzema leading Ancelotti's side out this evening as the new club captain.

Both sides are warming up and we're just about 15 minutes from kick-off now.

Analyzing Madrid ahead of the game, Glasner said: “Real are very comfortable on the ball, they sometimes attack very high. We want to play out from a compact defence and play with confidence, great passion, great willingness to run and great spirit. Of course, we also want to be dangerous from set pieces. It will be decided by details. We need to handle their strengths as best we can. I’m very confident that we can cause Real problems. The aim is clear: we want to return to Frankfurt with another trophy.

Eintracht starting XI confirmed

Mario Götze has to make do with a place on the bench after joining Frankfurt during the summer with Rafael Santos Borré leading the line for the Bundesliga side.

SOCCER

Real Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt: new offside technology in Super Cup

There'll be a new toy for the boys in black this evening as well as automated offside tech gets a run-out. Apparently it will involve 12 cameras inside the stadium that will be tracking the ball and 29 reference points on each player, updating their information 50 times per second

The German side did not enjoy the best preparation for this game at the weekend, when they were thrashed 6-1 by Bayern on the opening day of the Bundesliga season. Still, it's a cup game, a one-off, 11 against 11 etc and few would have tipped Oliver Glasner's side to win the Europa Leage last season, when they saw off Betis, Barcelona and West Ham en route the final.

Madrid did not exactly shine on their pre-season tour either but sahowed some glimpses of what Carlo Ancelotti is expecting this season and they will be the heavy favourites to win in Helsinki this evening.

Real Madrid starting XI confirmed

Carlo Ancelotti has gone with what is rapidly becoming his first choice XI with Fede Valverde now apparently the starter on the right of the attack after the Uruguayan's transformation from midfield. Benzema and Vinicius get the other two spots with the familiar midfield and defence lining up in Helsinki. It's the same starting XI as in the Champions League final.

Madrid out to match Barcelona and AC Milan

After reaching the Super Cup by claiming a 14th European title in May’s Champions League final against Liverpool, Madrid now have the opportunity to win the continental curtain-raiser for a joint-record fifth time. Los Blancos currently have four Super Cups to their name - one fewer than AC Milan and arch rivals Barcelona.

Real Madrid - Frankfurt head to head

Fans of both sides will have to have a few years on the clock to have witnessed the only other competitive meeting between Real Madrid and Eintracht, which was the 1960 European Cup final. A Madrid side led by Alfredo di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás won 7-3 in Glasgow.

The two teams contesting the Super Cup this evening won the Champions League and the Europa League respectively - Frankfurt's first major trophy since 1980 -  last season and will have the chance to add another bit of silverware to their cabinets this evening in Helsinki.

This will be Madrid’s eighth Super Cup appearance, while Frankfurt are making their debut in the fixture.

Real Madrid - Eintracht Frankfurt: welcome

Hello and welcome to AS USA's live coverage of the 2022 UEFA Super Cup between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt. Kick-off in Helsinki is at 22:00 local time, which is 3pm ET / 2pm CT / 12 noon PT.