Tallinn: Following the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid get their first test against crosstown rival Atletico Madrid in the Uefa Super Cup.
So far, Madrid haven’t resorted to a “galacticos” spending spree to bring in marquee names at astronomical prices. Coach Julen Lopetegui seems to be relying on the talent already at his disposal and a new tactical system.
They have made a few significant purchases, including goalkeeper Thibault Courtois from Chelsea.
The team built around Ronaldo and won three straight Champions League titles come up against a strong Atletico team that won the Europa League and finished ahead of Real in the Spanish league.
Ronaldo moved to Juventus in a 112 million euro deal and Zidane resigned.
Those changes have given new impetus to forwards Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio to step up and fill the void, who scored 450 goals in 438 matches for Madrid.
Bale, who came on as a substitute and scored two goals in Madrid’s 3-1 win over Liverpool in the Champions League final in May, has more to prove than anyone in the team. He had a rocky relationship with Zidane and spent much of his time on the bench under the Frenchman last season.
But Bale has impressed in the pre-season and he will look to prove to Lopetegui that he’s not just a Ronaldo understudy. Benzema, whose main function was to create opportunities for Ronaldo, will also look to shine now that the Portugal international is gone.
Atletico have failed against Madrid on European football’s biggest stage in recent times, losing Champions League finals in 2014 and 2016, and a semi-final in 2017.
Atletico were eliminated from group stage last season but went on to win the Europa League and also excelled in the Spanish league, finishing second behind Barcelona. They will seek to build on that momentum against Real on Wednesday, having brought in Thomas Lemar from Monaco and managing to hold on to star striker Antoine Griezmann.
