Super Cup season in Europe

FC Barcelona’s official season gets under way this Sunday at Camp Nou at 10.00pm CET when Ernesto Valverde’s team face Real Madrid in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup with the second leg to come on Wednesday in the Santiago Bernabéu. The campaign in Spain kicks off with a Clásico and in the other major leagues in Europe, several of the continent’s other top clubs have been in action in this traditional curtain raising fixture.

France

Ligue 1 Champions from last season Monaco took on Cup holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Trophée des Champions, the French version of the Super Cup. The game was played in Tangier in Morocco on 29 July and the Parisian club claimed the title with a 2-1 come from behind win that included a goal from former blaugrana Dani Alves.

Germany

Last Saturday saw the DFL-Supercup take place with the Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich taking on cup winners Borussia Dortmund. The one off fixture is traditionally played at the ground of the cup holders and in the 2017 edition Carlos Ancelotti’s Bayern team needed penalties to claim a record sixth win in the competition after a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes.

England

On Sunday the Premier League’s version of the competition, the Community Shield was played at Wembley. It was an all London affair with league champions Chelsea taking on last season’s FA Cup winners Arsenal. Once again penalties decided the trophy with Arsenal prevailing on spot kicks after a 1-1 draw in normal time.

Italy

The Supercoppa in Italy will take place on Sunday 13 August, the same day that Barça face Real Madrid and will involve Serie A champions Juventus and Coppa Italia holders Lazio. The last three editions of the competition have taken place outside Italy (twice in Qatar, once in China) but this season it returns home for the game that kicks off at 8.45pm CET in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.