The scene was the Super Cup against Real Madrid, and it wasn't a pretty picture for Marouane Fellaini.
Still, the Manchester United star had something to laugh about following the 2-1 loss in Macedonia. An Associated Press photograph of Fellaini's distorted face beside the ball attracted plenty of attention in mainstream and social media.
Fellaini took to Twitter in good humor to joke about the battered image, posting the photo with the accompanying note: "Thank you to everyone who posted & sent me this."
Earlier, Real Madrid eased to a 2-1 victory over Manchester United to win the Super Cup on Tuesday, with goals in each half from Casemiro and Isco.
Cristiano Ronaldo watched most of the end-to-end action from the bench, while his teammates outclassed United Cup on a hot night.
Casemiro hit the bar with a header and fired a shot over the top before scoring in the 24th minute. The Brazilian slid in for a left-foot finish, served up by Dani Carvajal.
Isco extended the lead for Zinedine Zidane's European champions with a shot in the 52nd, after Gareth Bale helped him run through United's defense.
Making amends for an earlier miss, United's new striker Romelu Lukaku made it 2-1 in the 62nd, beating Keylor Navas after the goalkeeper had blocked a powerful shot from Nemanja Matic.
