Karim Benzema struck a landmark goal as Real Madrid lifted the UEFA Super Cup for the fifth time in their history with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki.
The French forward, who was the inspirational force behind Real’s Champions League triumph last season, netted the second goal of the night 25 minutes from time to secure the trophy and move him into second spot on Madrid’s list of all-time leading goalscorers.
Los Blancos had dominated for long spells and took the lead on 37 minutes when David Alaba touched home Casemiro’s nod back after the Bundesliga outfit had failed to deal with a corner.
Benzema and Vinicius Junior also saw gilt-edged chances go begging while Daichi Kamada blew Frankfurt’s best opportunity of the first period when he shot too close to Thibaut Courtois following a clever counter attack.
The German side had been beaten 6-1 by Bayern Munich in their Bundesliga opener and looked a shadow of the team that had fearlessly charged to Europa League glory last season.
Casemiro was unlucky not to double Real’s lead earlier with a sizzling strike off the crossbar before Benzema made the most of good work from Vinicius Junior to somehow squeeze a shot through Kevin Trapp.
The victory sees Carlo Ancelotti claim a record fourth Super Cup as coach and sets Real up perfectly for the start of their La Liga title defence at Almeria on Sunday.
Frankfurt will lick their wounds and aim to bounce back from their nightmare start to the Bundesliga season with a trip to Hertha Berlin on Saturday.