Julen Lopetegui’s reign started with a stutter in Tallinn as Real Madrid succumbed to an extra-time 4-2 European Super Cup defeat to city rivals Atletico.
Los Blancos recovered from a first-minute Diego Costa sucker punch through Karim Benzema and a Sergio Ramos penalty – stepping up in place of Cristiano Ronaldo – before Costa stabbed home his second and forced the game to go to the distance.
A stunner from Saul separated the two sides before Koke made the result sure for Atletico. Below are our ratings for Atleti.
ATLETICO MADRID (4-4-2)
Jan Oblak – 6: Made a great reflex save to keep out Asensio’s clever flick, but perhaps should have come off his line for the equaliser.
Juanfran – 6: Struggled against the pace of Marcelo and the trickery of Asensio, and conceded the penalty for handball. Looks like a weak link.
Stefan Savic – 6: Beaten in the air by Benzema for the equaliser. Otherwise solid and strong but will surely lose his place to Jose Gimenez.
Diego Godin – 8: Atletico’s new captain read the game perfectly and made several brilliantly timed interventions, especially a tackle on Bale on the area’s edge.
Lucas Hernandez – 6: Generally steady against Bale but was beaten in the build-up to Madrid’s first goal. Limited contribution going forward but always willing.
Thomas Lemar – 8: Settling very well with his new club, tracking back to do his defensive work and adding a spark with his dribbling skills.
Rodri – 7: Classy competitive debut for the defensive midfielder, who uses his body well to protect the ball and plays with great intelligence.
Saul Niguez – 8: Capped an all-action display in the centre of the pitch with a magnificently volleyed winner. Complete performance from a complete player.
Koke – 6: Initially struggled to keep up with the tempo, but stuck to the task and improved as the game progressed, scoring the fourth.
Antoine Griezmann – 4: Very quiet and taken off for Correa early in the second half. Understandable that he struggled on his first start since the World Cup.
Diego Costa – 8: Scored a stunning goal after 50 seconds, equalised later on and played a part in the third and fourth goals. Immense.
SUBS
Angel Correa – 7: Replaced Griezmann and enlivened his team’s attack with a busy display, notably doing well to set up Costa for the equaliser.
Vitolo – 6: Came on for Rodri and added some attacking thrust with his ball skills, including a neat pass to Koke for the fourth goal.
Thomas Partey – 6: Appeared just before the end of normal time and contributed amply by finding Saul for the go-ahead extra time strike.