The Finnish capital Helsinki is also one of those cities where there are white nights; they begin on the day of the summer solstice. It was a little longer behind on Wednesday – and yet Helsinki was whiter than it has probably been this summer. Or more precisely: the Olympic Stadium, which is located in the district of Töölö.
As in the previous, triumphant Europa League season, the Eintracht fans in the stands appeared all in white; that of Real Madrid anyway. According to the acoustic signals that went through the round, there was no doubt about the superiority of the Frankfurters. On the field, of course, there was no doubt who had the hegemony in the European Supercup final in Helsinki. Real Madrid won 2-0 (1-0). It was not only the fifth Supercup for the Spaniards, but the 98th title at all.
“Of course you want to win the title in a game like this,” said Frankfurt’s Sebastian Rode, a little disappointed at Dazn. “That just wasn’t enough today. You have to take advantage of the chances against the Champions League winners, we didn’t manage that.” Real coach Carlo Ancelotti said appreciatively: “We had problems at the beginning.”
In those early minutes, Eintracht concentrated on determining the temperature of the Madrilenians. They left the ball to the favourites. Advisedly. On the one hand, they were still wearing the 1: 6 from Friday against FC Bayern in their clothes, but soon seemed well rested and perky. On the other hand, they couldn’t have had any idea how the competitive toughness of the Madrilenians, who were still tanned from their summer vacation, was determined. For Real, the game in Helsinki was the first competitive game of the season.
Real Madrid wins even when the team is almost back from vacation
But Real Madrid is and will remain Real Madrid even if the team was just relaxing in a deck chair. It knows no mercy in finals. It will be almost 22 years since Madrid lost a final to a non-Spanish opponent. Since the World Cup defeat to Boca Juniors from Buenos Aires in November 2000.
When Real Madrid play a European final, they usually win. Like this time in Helsinki
(Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)
It didn’t help the Frankfurters that the first dangerous scenes were their fault. Rafael Santos Borré, the Colombian striker who was the last to score from penalties in the Europa League final against Glasgow Rangers, indicated that the big games particularly suit him. It was he who assisted Frankfurt with the first shots on goal, with lightning-fast passes in depth, first to Ansgar Knauff, then to Kamada.
The fact that Knauff was offside was irrelevant insofar as his shot stuck, which should also be shown by Daichi Kamada’s goal: Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois dived and saved both shots with flying colours. Incidentally, under the eyes of various veterans who had contested the only competitive game between Real Madrid and Eintracht so far: Here José Emilio Santamaría, there Erwin Stein and Dieter Stinka, who were present at the legendary European Cup final in Glasgow in 1960.
Real then won 7:3. Also in the stadium was a much younger ex-Eintracht professional: Martin Hinteregger, who retired in the summer and was extensively celebrated by Eintracht fans before he went to the microphone of a southpaw broadcaster from Austria.
Frankfurt’s team watched the celebrations of the Spaniards – after all, the Champions League remains.
(Photo: Arne Dedert/dpa)
The fact that they missed him in sport could be seen in the following chances for the Madrilenians. First Frankfurt defender Tuta scraped a shot from Vinícius off the line, then it was goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, who was able to steer a shot from the Brazilian around the post with a brilliant act. At the expense of a corner, which proved to be fatal because the Frankfurt defense was completely beside itself: Toni Kroos crossed from the corner flag to Karim Benzema, who could not be prevented from heading the ball by two Frankfurters. Vinícius headed back from the baseline to the six-yard box. And there the former Munich player David Alaba stood alone to push the ball over the line to make it 1-0 (37′).
After that, Madrid showed Eintracht all the more that the fruits of the Champions League hang at the level of the 72.71-metre-high tower, which was built to honor the winning distance of the 1932 Olympic javelin champion, Matti Järvinen. Benzema and Casemiro intimidated Frankfurt with more chances before the break, Vinícius and Casemiro did it afterwards. And the ball disappeared in the midfield of the Madrilenians. Coach Carlo Ancelotti calls it “the Bermuda Triangle” with good reason.
Coach Oliver Glasner brought on Mario Götze and Kolo Muani in the 58th minute, Lucas Alario came later, but the Madrilenians’ dominance did not change. In the 65th minute, Benzema scored from a central position to make it 2-0, goalkeeper Trapp didn’t look good in a figurative sense, and the defense even less. The Frenchman now has 324 goals; one more than Raúl González Blanco.
Real Madrid wanted more – and above all, they didn’t want to show any weakness. Nothing of significance happened on the pitch, with the exception of Antonio Rudiger’s late substitution for Kroos. Eintracht lost in dignity. And Real Madrid can keep dreaming of the overarching goal of this season: to win six titles in a single year, as FC Bayern and before that FC Barcelona did last.
