Barcelona beats Madrid 3-2 in Spanish Super Cup
Thursday, August 23, 2012
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- Barcelona rallied to beat Real Madrid 3-2 Thursday night in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, giving Tito Vilanova a victory in his first game as a head coach against Jose Mourinho.
Cristiano Ronaldo put the defending La Liga champions ahead in the 55th minute with a header off a corner kick, only for Pedro Rodriguez to tie the score one minute later for the Copa del Rey winner.
Lionel Messi converted a penalty kick in the 70th minute after Sergio Ramos tripped Andres Iniesta, and Iniesta fed Xavi Hernandez for a 3-1 lead in the 78th, delighting a crowd of 91,728.
Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes mis-kicked a backpass in the 85th, allowing substitute Angel Di Maria to get around him for a shot into an open net.
The second leg of the total-goals series is next Thursday in Madrid.
Mourinho poked Vilanova in an eye as Barcelona won the Super Cup last year.
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