Super Cup victory over Eintracht Frankfurt shows that Real Madrid are inevitable - The Warm-Up

THURSDAY'S BIG STORIES If It Ain't Broke Ad Carlo Ancelotti doesn't seem a man given to showing off. All football managers have a fairly sizeable ego, of course, otherwise the job would be impossible. The dressing room would eat them alive.

And yet Don Carlo, for the most part, lets his eyebrow do the talking. UEFA Super CupAncelotti: No doubt Benzema must win Ballon d'Or after Super Cup triumph10 HOURS AGO But that said, there was something impressive and a little bit showy about Real Madrid sending out the same starting XI for last night's Super Cup as they did for last season's Champions League final. A flex, of sorts.

A message to the rest of Europe's elite: it's you that has to do the catching up here. We're fine. We're absolutely 100% sorted.

After all, while it hasn't been a frantic summer at the Bernabeu, they have done a little business. Just some minor tinkering around the edges. Just Antonio Rudiger, one of the best defenders in the Premier League, and Aurelien Tchouameni, one of the most coveted young midfielders in the world.

And there they both were, sitting on the bench, waiting their turn as Madrid did what they do. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, friction-free in the middle. Karim Benzema, lurking, shooting, scoring.

Fede Valverde, playing three positions at once. A smooth and classy engine, every part perfectly balanced and greased, that ticks over with barely a rumble and accelerates through the gears precisely as required. As for Frankfurt, they managed not to lose 6-1 for the second time in a week, so that has to be considered progress.