Barcelona beat Madrid 3-2 in first leg

MADRID - Agence Frence-Presse

Barcelona's Lionel Messi from Argentina, left, prior to scoring a goal during a Spanish Supercup first leg soccer match against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. AP photo

Pedro Rodriguez, Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez scored second-half goals to give Barcelona a 3-2 first-leg home victory over Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup on Thursday.

The traditional curtain raiser to the new Spanish season was threatening to become a lacklustre affair until Ronaldo put Madrid ahead on 55 minutes.
 
Barca replied three times before Angel Di Maria capitalised on a Victor Valdes mistake to give Madrid some hope ahead of next week's second-leg in the Santiago Bernabeu.