After the opener of the indestructible Luka Modric, who converted from the right a good foray by Rodrygo into the Basque area (38th), Benzema sealed the coronation of the "White House" by transforming a penalty he himself provoked with a strike which touched the arm of Yeray Alvarez in the area (52nd).

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema scores the second goal on penalty against Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final on January 16, 2022 in Riyadh - AFP

And after Eder Militao was sent off on a red card for a handball at the end of the match, Thibaut Courtois, impeccable, stopped Raul Garcia's penalty in the 88th minute.

A month before facing Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League (February 15), Real, leader of La Liga and still in contention in all competitions, are starting their second part of the season brilliantly with this first title of the 2021-2022 season.

The first gleaned by Carlo Ancelotti since his return to the merengue bench last summer, after the departure of Zinédine Zidane.

Modric, the indestructible

The figurehead of this frightening white vessel is called Karim Benzema.

The French center-forward, sparkling since the start of the season (24 goals and 13 assists in 27 matches in all competitions), was the first to alert Unai Simon in the 19th minute of a curled shot that flew off the frame. a little.

Against his favorite prey (Benzema has scored 18 goals against Athletic Bilbao in all competitions since his debut), the ex-Lyonnais, captain of the Merengues, has come a little closer to the podium of the top scorers in the history of the club, five behind legend Alfredo di Stéfano (308 goals).

The joy of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema after scoring the second goal on penalty against Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final on January 16, 2022 in Riyadh - AFP

At his side, it is another innkeeper of Real who illustrated himself on the lawn of the international stadium of King-Fahd (62,000 places but crowds limited to 30,000 places on Sunday due to the health situation).

Croatian leprechaun Luka Modric scored his first goal of the season at the best of times.

The 2018 Ballon d'Or, vice-world champion with Croatia, was on the downward slope two years ago, stuck between repeated injuries and the bench...

But according to the Spanish press, at Real, negotiations are already underway behind the scenes to extend the eternal Croatian playing master by one season, imperial in the middle of the field on Sunday evening, and who even allowed himself a small bridge over Mikel Vesga late in the game.

Great return of the great Real?

At 36 years and 129 days, Modric became the oldest scorer in the history of the Spanish Super Cup, ahead of Basque goleadors Aritz Aduriz and Raul Garcia (both 34 years and 187 days).

The joy of Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder, Luka Modric, after scoring against Barcelona, ​​during the clasico, on October 24, 2020 at Camp Nou LLUIS GENE AFP / Archives

For Athletic Bilbao, winner of the Supercup in 2021 in Andalusia, the Saudi epic is already beautiful.

Since Marcelino's arrival on the bench in January 2021, the Basques have played in four finals: two lost Copa del Rey finals (2020 and 2021) and two Spanish Super Cup finals.

But this time, even the coming into play at the break of the prodigy Nico Williams (19), little brother of Iñaki and hero of the semi-final won against Atlético (2-1), was not enough. : the Basques could not cope with the impression of quiet control given off by this Real in steamroller mode.

For Carlo Ancelotti, 2022 is off to the best possible start.

And the Italian technician knows the path to follow to achieve an almost perfect course: in 2014, Real de "Carletto" won the Spanish Cup, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Cup. clubs.

The return of the great Real Madrid?

© 2022 AFP