Madrid beats Barca 2-0 without Ronaldo to win Super Cup

Real Madrid players celebrate with trophy after winning the Spanish Super Cup in Madrid, Spain on August 17, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema provided the goals in the second leg for a Madrid side that showed every ounce of confidence that Barcelona sorely lacked.

While Bale was rested on the bench, Ronaldo watched the game from the Santiago Bernabeu stands as he completed the first game of a five-match ban for pushing the referee who sent him off in Sunday's 3-1 first-leg win.

Asensio filled in perfectly for Madrid's star, scoring five minutes into the match for his second goal in the season's curtain raiser. Benzema added a second goal in the 39th after Lucas Vazquez had already hit the post for the hosts.

Last season's Liga and Champions League winners, Madrid also beat Manchester United to win the European Super Cup last week.

"We played very well in the away leg and we had a great game tonight, above all in the first half, which was spectacular," Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. "We have to congratulate the players because they were fantastic. You couldn't notice the changes (to the starting lineup)."Barcelona struggled to score for a second match since the shocking departure of Neymar on a world-record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. The closest it went to scoring was Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez hitting the woodwork in the second half after the title was already in Madrid's grasp.

After seeing his team be soundly beaten on its home pitch in his debut with the team on Sunday, Barcelona's new coach Ernesto Valverde decided to revamp both his starting 11 and its formation.

He ditched Barcelona's classic 4-3-3 formation for a 3-5-2, with only Messi and Suarez up front. Neymar had accompanied them for the past four seasons before he bolted for PSG.

Valverde also gave starts to midfielders Andre Gomes and Sergi Roberto and defender Javier Mascherano, in place of Sunday's starters Aleix Vidal, Gerard Deulofeu and the injured Andres Iniesta.

It didn't matter.