Real Madrid won the opening leg of the Spanish Super Cup 3-1 at the Nou Camp in Barcelona on Sunday.
But Madrid’s victory before 89,500 football fans, was marred by the red card earned by star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who the referee felt had dived for a possible penalty.
For the two rivals, there were no new signings. Same team, same faces, minus Neymar in Barca’s attacking front. His place was taken by Gerard Deulofeu.
The match had ended goalless in the first half. But Pique’s own goal put Real Madrid ahead in the second half on the 50th minute.
Lionel Messi equalised for the hosts in the 77th minute, after Keylor Navas fouled Luis Suarez in the box.
With 10 minutes remaining, Ronaldo, who came in as a substitute in the 68th minute for Karim Benzema scored a superb second for Real, putting them ahead.
Ronaldo however was sent off minutes after getting a second yellow card. The first yellow was for taking his shirt off in celebration. The second was for diving in the box.
He even risked a longer spell on the sidelines, as he tried to push the referee following his red .
The 10-man Madrid however were not totally down with Ronaldo’s exit as Marco Asensio’s brilliant effort in the 90th minute, gave them a two-goal lead ahead of Barcelona in the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu.
