UEFA Super Cup: Barca win against Porto

UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona started the European season the way they ended the last with a title as they beat UEFA Europa League champions FC Porto 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup in Monaco last night.



Barcelona is currently the club side to beat in Europe with their shot passing game the best football currently has to offer. And it was on display in Monaco as the Portuguese side had no real answer to tiki-taka football.



But Porto did make some initial inroads with Hulk and Joao Moutinho getting early chances for Porto. Once Barca settled down it was often one way traffic with Barca having 70% of the ball at the end of the first session with Andres Iniesta once more outstanding in midfield supplying the ball to Lionel Messi, David Villa and Pedro Rodriguez.



It was none other then Lionel Messi, yesterday named UEFA Player of the Year, who gave Barca a 39th minute first half lead as he intercepted a suicidal back-pass from Fredy Guarin; while new Barca signing Cesc Fabregas made it 2-0 in the 88th minute after the former Arsenal captain had to warm the bench for most of the match.



To make matters worse for FC Porto they ended the match with nine men, a game that started promisingly for them but ended as many would make expected against the Catalans. First Rolando got his second booking in the 86th minute, while Fredy Guarin got a straight red for a harsh foul on Javier Mascherano.

UEFA Super Cup: Atletico shock Inter

Club Atlético de Madrid scored a shock 2-0 victory against FC Internazionale Milano in the European season opening UEFA Super Cup in Monaco last night. If one had hoped for an entertaining match of football as the usual pressure isn't there, then one would have been heavily disappointed as both sides focused on their defence like in their successful European campaigns last season.

In the end the Europa League champions got the better of the Champions League winners due to two goals from Spaniard José Antonio Reyes and Argentinian Sergio Agüero. It also ended Inter's chances to emulate FC Barcelona by winning six titles in a calendar year. Inter over the weekend had won the Italian Super Cup to win their fourth title, but the fifth would elude them against an Atletico who deservingly took home the Super Cup.

It was interesting to see that both sides only made one change each to the first eleven which won them the trophies in May. Inter's new coach Rafael Benitez brought on Dejan Stanković for Goran Pandev; while his counterpart Quique Sánchez Flores gave new signing Uruguayan Diego Godín a start in defence.

Both sides focused on their defences early on and no chance in the first session would actually force the two keepers to make any saves. But things changed after the break as Atletico would take control and Inter didn't really have an answer. José Antonio Reyes would threaten Júlio César's goal for the first time in the 59th minute with a good shot, but the Brazilian keeper could clear for a corner. But three minutes later Reyes would give his side the lead as he would beat Maicon and César's outstretched hand. Atletico were high and dry in the 83rd minute when Simão beat Lucio on the left to play the ball into the middle with Sergio Agüero only having to push the ball into an empty net. Inter could have come back late in the game, but Diego Milito's penalty was cleared by teenage keeper David de Gea just a minute from time. Thereafter it was celebration time for Atletico and their fans, while there is some home work still to be done by Benitez and his boys.