Real Madrid want to start the new season the same way it ended the last one — winning a trophy. Madrid won the UEFA Champions League in their final match last season, and on Wednesday they begin the new season by taking on UEFA Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup in Helsinki, Finland. (More Football News)
It will be the teams' first competitive meeting since the 1960 European Cup final, when Madrid won their fifth straight European title at the time with a thrilling 7-3 win at Glasgow's Hampden Park. Ferenc Puskas scored four goals for Madrid and Alfredo Di Stefano got a hat trick. Around 127,000 fans watched the match in what is still the highest attendance for a European Cup final.
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Madrid are now chasing their fifth Super Cup title, and first since 2017, while Frankfurt will be making their first Super Cup appearance following their shootout victory over Rangers in the Europa League final. That win ended the German club's 42-year wait for a European trophy.
The match at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium will be the first UEFA club competition final to be held in Finland, though the venue previously also staged the final of the women's European Championship in 2009.
Semi-automated offside technology will be used for the first time in a European club competition. The new system operates with cameras that can track 29 different body points per player and will allow video review teams to determine offside situations more quickly and accurately, according to UEFA.
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The system was tested at the women's Euro 2022 in England and in the Champions League last season. It was also approved by FIFA for the World Cup in Qatar.
UEFA Super Cup 2022, Real Madrid Vs Eintracht Frankfurt Match Details
Match: UEFA Super Cup 2022 between Champions League winners Real Madrid and Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt;
Date: August 11 (Thursday), 2022;
Time: 12:30 AM IST;
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland.
Where to watch Real Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt, UEFA Super Cup 2022 live in India?
The UEFA Super Cup 2022 between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt will be telecast live on Sony TEN 2 and Sony TEN 2 HD TV channels in India.
Live streaming of Real Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt, UEFA Super Cup 2022 will be available on SonyLiv and JioTV.
Real Madrid Vs Eintracht Frankfurt, Head-to-head Record
Real Madrid lead Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 in the head-to-head record. Real Madrid won their only meeting 7-3 in the 1960 European Cup final.
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Madrid ended last season on a high after comfortably winning the Spanish league and overcoming poor performances to advance in the knockout stages of the Champions League. They eventually clinched a record 14th European title in the final against Liverpool.
The Spanish powerhouse will be mostly unchanged going into 2022-23, led by Karim Benzema following his best season ever. Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo are also back in an attack that was dominant last season, and the midfield remains anchored by Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. The team's additions come with central defender Antonio Rüdiger and midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni.
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Isco Alarcón and Gareth Bale left after their contracts expired, but the club did not replace them despite the disappointment of failing to sign Kylian Mbappé from Paris Saint-Germain. Instead, Madrid are hoping for another impressive season up front from the 34-year-old Benzema.
The France striker was the top scorer in the Spanish league and the Champions League. He scored 44 goals in 45 matches with Madrid, and equaled Raúl González as the club's second-highest scorer with 323 goals, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (451).
Benzema scored twice in his two preseason games — a 2-2 draw with Mexican club América and a 2-0 win over Juventus — and did not play in Madrid's 1-0 loss to Barcelona.
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Madrid will play their Spanish league opener on Sunday at promoted Almería.
Frankfurt's season has already started. They routed second-division club Magdeburg 4-0 in the first round of the German Cup, then lost 6-1 at home to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga opener on Friday, when the visitors led 5-0 at halftime.
“On Wednesday we have the opportunity to do better against an opponent that's just as strong,” Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner said. “Sometimes it's good to get a slap in the face so not everyone thinks things will continue like last season.”
Frankfurt had not clinched a European title until winning the UEFA Cup in 1980. They won a lone German league title in 1959, and since then they have won five German Cups, the last in 2018.
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(With AP inputs)
