Barcelona recovered from a spectacular opening goal from Kylian Mbappe and the 56th-minute sending off of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to beat Real Madrid and win the Spanish Super Cup at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
Madrid striker Mbappe ran almost halfway across the field to score his first goal in the match known as El Clasico, but Lamine Yamal equalized 17 minutes later, rushing onto Robert Lewandowski’s clever first pass and inserting coolly after entering the box. .
Lewandowski converted a penalty, Raphinha buried an emphatic header from Jules Kounde’s cross and Alejandro Balde produced a brilliant counter-attack as Hansi Flick’s side took a 4-1 lead into half-time, l The Brazilian winger fired again three minutes after the break.
When Szczesny was shown a straight red card for denying Mbappe a clear chance to score, midfielder Gavi made way for Inaki Pena – who was sent off ahead of Barca’s semi-final for lateness – to come on. the goal.
Pena has barely had time to settle in before Rodrygo responds for Madrid with a sublime free kick. It was little consolation as the reigning European champions’ five-game winning streak came to an end and Barca took stylish revenge for their 4-1 defeat in last season’s final.
The first half, in a single image. #ElClásico pic.twitter.com/DVH74c22CX
– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 12, 2025
Barcelona wins the Spanish Super Cup
Barcelona have had a remarkably poor run against Spanish opponents since winning 4-0 at Madrid in La Liga on October 26 and beating Espanyol 3-1 at home a week later.
Flick’s side were top of the table at that point in his first season in charge, but four defeats and one win in seven league matches made such results potentially crucial for his players’ confidence.
The fact that they had recovered from Mbappe’s dazzling run and trickery for the opener made the situation even more impressive, and their depleted ranks mattered little thanks to the three-goal lead they had created thanks to Balde 10 minutes into added time in the first half.
In his second game back from injury after scoring in the 2-0 semi-final win over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, Yamal collected a loose pass near the edge of his own penalty area and found Raphinha in part of a movement covering most of the length. from the field and ending with Balde finding the net.
𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒!
– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 12, 2025
Madrid, Barcelona next matches
Madrid, who beat Mallorca 3-0 in the semi-final, are five points clear of second-placed Barcelona La Ligawith leader Atletico Madrid a point further back.
There is now a quick turnaround for both teams following their trips to Saudi Arabia for the deciding Super Cup matches, starting with Barca hosting Real Betis in the Copa del Rey round of 16 on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. GMT) .
Madrid hosts Celta Vigo a day later (8:30 p.m.), while Las Palmas, 14th, will be invited to the championship on Sunday (3:15 p.m.).
On Saturday (8 p.m.), Barcelona will aim for their first league victory since December 3 when they travel to 15th-placed Getafe, who have scored the fewest goals in the division.
