At exactly 10:00 p.m. on August 14, at the Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain.
In the first leg of the Super Cup, Real Madrid hosted Barcelona.
This was the first official match of the new season, as well as both sides' debut of the new campaign.
The lineup ceremony that had been hyped up for the entire week before the match ultimately failed to materialize. Barcelona clearly could not accept lining up at the Bernabéu to welcome Champions League winners Real Madrid, because they were the runners-up.
In fact, this had been mostly media hype and fans stirring things up. Both sides knew perfectly well that neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona would accept lining up to welcome the other after they won a title. This had nothing to do with sportsmanship. It was more because of the century-old enmity between the two sides.
Everyone at Real Madrid saw this clearly, and no one blamed Barcelona over it.
From the moment both teams entered the Bernabéu, their starting lineups were already obvious.
The hosts, Real Madrid, once again lined up in a 4-2-3-1 Formation. Casillas was in goal, with Marcelo, Pepe, Ramos, and Arbeloa in defense. Xabi Alonso and Javi Martínez formed the Double Defensive Midfielders, David Silva played centrally, and the front three remained Yang Yang, Ibrahimovic, and Robben.
Apart from Marcelo, none of the internationals who had participated in the Copa América made the starting lineup, including Mascherano, Maxwell, Maicon, Kaka, and Di Maria. Those players had only returned at the end of July or the beginning of August, and their form and fitness reserves were clearly still unable to keep up with the team's rhythm.
Barcelona, meanwhile, continued to use their own 4-3-3 Formation. Valdes was in goal, with Adriano, Abidal, Pique, and Alves in defense. The midfield