Real Madrid defeated Barcelona in the Supercopa and moved another step closer to establishing what many is regarding as Los Blancos’ finest era in recent memory.
Plagued by injuries and a ludicrous shallow squad, Ernesto Valverde’s men struggled to string together reasonable patches of play throughout the 90 minutes. The fact that the score tied at 0-0 at half time had more to do with Madrid’s inability to impose themselves on an obviously weak Barca squad.
Granted the Galaticos were without a couple of key players like Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo who came on the hour mark, the model of operation overseen by Florentino Perez rids them of the excuse of key absentees. They are called Galaticos for a reason. Everyone is expected to be a star. Not to the tune of Ronaldo anyway but decent enough to sweep aside a Barca squad looking sick from the absence of the MSN factor, spineless in midfield and uncertain in defence.
Ronaldo unfortunately had a mixed bittersweet evening as he got himself sent off few minutes after scoring a wonder goal. Still, Madrid go back home already feeling the air of victory. You can’t blame them.
Barca sold a seemingly irreplaceable head in the MSN’s short but entertaining holy trinity to Paris Saint Germain and expectedly struggled to cope with Neymar’s absence as stand-in Gerard Deulofeu toiled all night only to succeed proving to the Mes Que Un Club that they are going to miss the Brazilian in more proportions than they might have thought. Bookmakers such as netbet.co.uk have downgraded their title hopes, wth Real now clear favourites at less than Evens to win the title.
Meanwhile it has been reported that Cristiano Ronaldo knew that Neymar would push for anexit from Barcelona as he felt 'stuck' behind Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou outfit. The Brazil international was never able to become the main man with the Catalan giants with Messi always taking up the plaudits for the club's success.
In a report covered by Diario Gol, Ronaldo admits Neymar wanted to escape the shadow of Messi, and this was the prime reason behind his switch to Parc des Princes. The four-time Ballon d'Or winner also reckons that the Brazilian made the right choice to make the switch as it would help him gain his own identity, although the league is of a slightly lower standard.
Meanwhile, in his presentation at Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar had fond words to say about his new club, who he feels are one of the most ambitious clubs across Europe, he said: "I am extremely happy to join Paris Saint-Germain. Since I arrived in Europe, the club has always been one of the most competitive and most ambitious. And the biggest challenge, what most motivated me to join my new teammates, is to help the club to conquer the titles that their fans want. PSG's ambition attracted me to the club, along with the passion and the energy this brings. I have played four seasons in Europe and I feel ready to take the challenge."
Neymar has been cleared to take part in this weekend's clash against Guingamp after the French football association received the necessary documentation from La Liga. Paris Saint-Germain suffered a major dent in the Ligue 1 last season as they lost out their title to AS Monaco, and they will want to reclaim the crown in stunning fashion this season, now that they have Neymar and possibly Kylian Mbappe joining him in a couple of days' time.