‘This is motivation for us to keep going,’ Ancelotti says after Real Madrid’s Super Cup victory

MADRID: Real Madrid won’t be going a second consecutive season without a title. After failing to lift a trophy under Zinedine Zidane last season, Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid secured the Spanish Super Cup with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday in Saudi Arabia. Luka Modric and Karim Benzema scored a goal in each half of the final as Madrid comfortably defeated the defending champions to reinforce its status as the top team in Spain this season.

Madrid has already beaten Barcelona twice — including in the Super Cup semifinals — and Atlético Madrid once, and is more than 15 points ahead of both rivals halfway through the Spanish league season. Ancelotti has also led Madrid to the knockout stage of the Champions League. Madrid went without a trophy for the first time in more than a decade last season under Zidane.

“This is motivation for us to keep going,” Ancelotti said. “We have to keep competing like this.” Madrid’s 12th Super Cup title moves the club only one behind Barcelona, the competition’s most successful team. Athletic was seeking its fourth Super Cup trophy.

It was Madrid’s second Super Cup title since the competition was moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020. It had won the first edition of the tournament in the Middle East country by beating Atlético in the final. The Super Cup returned to Spain in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Athletic was seeking its second consecutive title after defeating Barcelona in last year’s final.

It beat Atlético in this year’s semifinal in the revamped “Final Four” format. Modric opened the scoring with a curling shot into the top corner after being set up by forward Rodrygo just inside the area in the 38th minute. Benzema added to the lead by converting a 51st-minute