Manchester United’s season officially kicks off on Tuesday night, as the Reds travel to Macedonia to face Champions League winners Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.
After a promising pre-season tour of the United States and two more productive friendlies in Europe, José Mourinho’s side are ready to take their impressive form into competitive action, and Zinedine Zidane’s side will certainly provide a stern test in Skopje.
United will be missing a couple of key men though, with Eric Bailly and Phil Jones both suspended for this showpiece encounter. Bailly has had his initial one-match ban for violent conduct in the Reds’ Europa League semi-final against Celta extended to three games, while Jones is serving a two-match ban for insulting a UEFA doping control officer following United’s victory over Ajax in the Europa League final.
This will be the Reds’ fourth appearance in the Super Cup final – on the previous three occasions, they have competed, firstly as UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup winners, as well as Champions League winners. However, they have only come away with the trophy once in those encounters. Here’s a quick look back at United’s history in this one-off game:
