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Madrid beat Frankfurt to lift Super Cup

Staff WritersAAP
Real Madrid won a record-equalling fifth UEFA Super Cup by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0. (AP PHOTO)
Camera IconReal Madrid won a record-equalling fifth UEFA Super Cup by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AP

Real Madrid have beaten Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 to lift the UEFA Super Cup for a record-equalling fifth time.

Defender David Alaba and striker Karim Benzema were on target in either half for the Champions League holders in a convincing victory over the surprise Europa League champions Frankfurt.

Madrid drew level with AC Milan and Barcelona in the European season curtain-raiser, held this year in the Finnish capital.

Carlo Ancelotti became the most decorated coach in the event with four titles, one more than Pep Guardiola.

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"We didn't play a spectacular game, but we were really solid. Our usual," Ancelotti said.

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"It's difficult at the beginning of the season to be in top form but we now have won to start the season well."

Socceroos midfielder Ajdin Hrustic didn't feature for the Germans. Deemed surplus to requirements by manager Oliver Glasner, Hrustic - who has a year remaining on his Bundesliga contract - has been given permission to talk to other teams and looks like heading to either Italy or Spain.

Austrian star Alaba opened the scoring in the 37th minute after Casemiro kept the ball in play from Benzema's header.

Casemiro hit the bar in the second half and the Spanish giants finally got a deserved second when Benzema fired into the bottom left corner in the 65th from a pass from the lively Vinicius Junior.

Frenchman Benzema, who joined the club in 2009, lifted the trophy for Madrid, his first as captain after taking over from Marcelo.

Benzema is now the second-most prolific scorer in the club's history with 324 goals, one ahead of Raul Gonzalez. Cristiano Ronaldo is the runaway leader with 450 goals.

"He's a very important player, a team leader," Ancelotti said of Benzema.

"If we're here it's largely due to his merits, he scored a lot of goals, he finished the season well, he scored a goal today and now he's going for the Ballon d'Or award."

The game failed to match the spectacle of their previous meeting.

Their only other competitive clash was the 1960 European Cup final, when Alfredo Di Stefano scored three goals and Ferenc Puskas chipped in with four to give Madrid a 7-3 win and fifth consecutive European crown.

Frankfurt goalscorer Erwin Stein and teammate Dieter Stinka were in Helsinki for the rematch 62 years later, but it was the 93-year-old Jose Santamaria -- the only remaining Madrid player from that final in Glasgow -- who celebrated another win. The three veterans embraced warmly when they met before kickoff.

With agencies.

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