Real Madrid will face Manchester United in the 45th annual UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday evening in Macedonia, an event that sees the respective UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League holders clash in a one-off match. Kick-off at the Phillip II Arena in Skopje is at 20:45 (8:45pm).
Defending Super Cup Champions Real Madrid will be playing in their 6th showpiece event and will hoping to add a 4th title to their ever-growing cabinet after becoming the first team to win the Champions League in back-to-back seasons. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have both been included in the matchday squad to face Manchester United by manager Zinedine Zidane with the former only having just returned to training following his extended break. He did not feature in any of Real Madrid’s fixtures on their tour of the United States, however is widely expected to play some part against his former employers.
Jose Mourinho has won the Champions League twice already in his career, first with Porto in 2004 and then with Inter Milan in 2010, but on both occasions, left his position for fresh challenges with new clubs (Chelsea in 2004; Real Madrid in 2010), before he had the chance to oversee his old ones at the Super Cup. Porto and Inter lost the subsequent finals against Valencia and Atletico Madrid without the guidance of Mourinho, but on Tuesday evening Jose will finally get his chance against Spanish opposition after winning the UEFA Europa League with Manchester United for the very first time. United lost out to Zenit St. Petersburg in 2008 in their only other appearance in the Super Cup.
The sides last faced each other in a UEFA competition in the last-8 of the Champions League in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge at Manchester United. Real Madrid, courtesy of cult hero and former Red Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored in 2-1 win at Old Trafford, ensured that there would be no fairytale send-off for one of football’s greatest ever managers. Since then they have met a couple of times in the United States on pre-season tours in 2014 and then again in 2017 with United coming away with victories on both occasions.
Real Madrid vs Manchester United head-to-head:
Games Played: 12
Real Madrid Wins: 4
Drawn Games: 4
Man United Wins: 4
Last 5 matches:
23/07/2017 - Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester United (Man U won 2-1 on pens.)
02/08/2014 – Manchester United 3-1 Real Madrid
05/03/2013 – Manchester United 1-2 Real Madrid
13/02/2013 – Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester United
23/04/2003 – Manchester United 4-3 Real Madrid