Barcelona beats Shakhtar 1-0 in Super Cup
Barcelona substitute Pedro Rodriguez scored the only goal deep into extra time to lead the European Cup champions to a 1-0 victory over UEFA Cup winner Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine in the European Super Cup on Friday.
Rodriguez pounced onto a pass from Lionel Messi with five minutes of extra time remaining and prodded the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.
“We’ve managed to bring two Super Cups home so we’re pretty happy. It’s a great evening. We haven’t lost the essence of the side,” Coach Pep Guardiola said through a translator.
Barcelona last won the Super Cup in 1997 and also in 1992, but lost in 2006 to UEFA Cup winner Sevilla. Guardiola guided Barcelona to three titles last season, adding La Liga and Copa del Rey in Spain to the Champions League crown.
Messi, Barca’s star in the Champions League final win over Manchester United, rolled the ball from his right foot to his left and sent a reverse pass into Rodriguez’s path as he ran around the back of a defender.
Tempers flared at the end of regulation when Messi dashed into the penalty area and complained that he had been impeded as he was about to shoot.
Shakhtar didn’t threaten Barcelona’s goal until extra time when substitute Julius Aghahowa ran through and forced goalkeeper Victor Valdes into a low save in the 97th minute. Barcelona replacement Bojan Krkic’s angled shot was saved by goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov a minute later as the game finally came to life.
Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu said it was “extremely difficult” to play a team like Barcelona.
“Barcelona is a great team. I know how they play and organize things. I’m happy because we played a good game,” he said.