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In the end, it was too much for Real Madrid to topple as well. Barcelona claimed the Supercopa de Espana final with a 5-2 victory over their formidable foes in a bonkers contest on Sunday night.
such as The last classic In October, Barcelona scored four goals in one half. Hansi Flick’s formidable Catalans quickened that quartet before the half-time whistle in the Saudi Arabia-based showpiece, but Real Madrid did not go down without a fight.
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring before Barcelona’s blitz forced goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to be sent off on the hour mark. Rodrigo reduced the deficit to three goals, but Barcelona went on to claim the trophy which would distract, however briefly, Controversy that has engulfed the club in the end
How the game unfolded
Barcelona were warned. “Madrid are one of the best teams in the world in transition,” stressed Flick before kick-off.
Kylian Mbappe Less than five minutes were needed to justify the fears of the Barcelona manager, who led a pitch-long counter-attack that Real Madrid had originally been defending. Vinicius Jnr robbed Marc Casado on the edge of his own team’s box and put Mbappe away. The Frenchman did all but leave scorching marks in the turf as he charged forward, twisting Alejandro Balden inside before pushing past Szczesny.
Despite initial concessions, Barcelona Gaining possession and hunting the ball after each turnover, will not be stopped. Lamine Yamal, often the Catalans’ source of attacking inspiration, teased Flick’s side level with an impossibly delicate finish. Turning infield from the right wing, Barcelona’s teenage sensation Thibaut Courtois made a splash with a beautiful reverse that curled into the bottom corner.
Played over a background of mostly constant low hum Real Madrid-The packed crowd in Saudi Arabia roared in disapproval when the referee pointed to the penalty spot in the 36th minute. After a pitch-side review, Jesus Gil Manzano agreed that Eduardo Camavinga’s dangling leg was enough to send Ging down. Robert Lewandowski made no mistake from 12 yards.
Rafinha doubled Barcelona’s advantage three minutes from the spot-kick. The Brazilian wandered into the yawning chasm that existed in Madrid’s makeshift backline, slotting a powerful header past Courtois to make it 3-1.
An epic first half stretched to an hour as nine minutes of stoppage time were added. With the last kick of a never-ending half, Madrid had a short corner blocked by Yamal. The winger set up his fellow goalscorer Rafinha on a dizzying counter-attack which ended with Alejandro Balde, moving in from left-back, drilling a finish into the bottom corner.
Carlo Ancelotti The half-time introduction of Dani Ceballos tried to stem the bleeding, yet the controlling Spaniard was helpless as Rafinha added Barcelona’s fifth three minutes from the restart.
As Flick’s side looked headed for another Clasico mauling, their own mistakes came to the fore. Mbappe burst behind that notoriously tall backline and took the ball away from Szczesny. Barcelona’s back-up goalkeeper hacked down the Frenchman and was sent off after a VAR review. Rodrigo picked out the top corner from the resulting free-kick, ensuring that Inaki Pena’s first task as substitute goalkeeper was to get the ball back into his net.
The tempo of a contest that never flowed so much as to crash violently from one end of the pitch to the other began to slow down late in the final 20 minutes. Barcelona’s ten men reluctantly dropped deep, frustrating a Madrid side caught in a five-goal blitz either side of half-time.
Check out player ratings from Real Madrid 2-5 Barcelona here.
The line – a grand vision of a single city spanning 170km of Saudi Arabia – could be perfectly constructed in the space between Aurelien Choumeni and Lucas Vazquez when Barcelona scored their third goal of the evening.
For all the glitz and glamor of Real Madrid’s attack, Rafinha’s free header was a powerful reminder that half of the team’s rearguard on Sunday night consisted of a defensive midfielder alongside an aging winger.
Chowmani seemed to be dragging an invisible fleet when he tried to chase down Rafinha early in the second half, getting nowhere for the Barcelona vice-captain who promptly made it 5-1. At the subsequent stoppage of play, Ancelotti brought Vazquez off for Raul Asensio – a youngster making his first Clasico appearance, but at least he was familiar with the demands of playing in the back-four.
Ancelotti is the driving force behind Madrid Force defensive recruitment In January, when the club intends to save for the summer extravaganza. The Italian’s urgency will not be dampened by a disastrous defensive performance.
Rafinha sat out last year’s Supercopa final against Real Madrid, watching his team-mates lose 4-1, while suffering one of the many serious injuries that have marred his Barcelona career. Fast forward 12 months, and there was no way the Brazilian was missing from Sunday’s showpiece.
In a game consisting of four players who The top eight of the 2024 Ballon d’OrRafinha – a player not even nominated for the prestigious individual award – outshone everyone on the pitch.
Blessed with a never-empty tank and a mind as sharp as his curve of pace, Barcelona’s rejuvenated vice-captain is enjoying the campaign of his career. Two goals and an assist in Sunday’s final took him to 30 goals in 27 appearances this season.
Mbappe was drafted as Laughing stock The first Clasico of the season. The goalless forward not only failed to find the net, but was caught offside a record-equalling eight times. Only once did he force the assistant’s flag to be raised on Sunday.
The Frenchman, who opened the scoring with the type of ruthless finishing that eluded him for so much of the first half of the season, was initially ruled offside when he was tripped by Szczesny after the break. Yet, on review, the semi-automated technology backed up Mbappe and led to an early shower for Barcelona’s third-choice goalkeeper.
Even in second-half stoppage time, with Vinicius watching from the bench and Ancelotti ditching his number nine for the perfect 90, Mbappe deftly slipped past Bellingham in the box through a blur of blue and red.
While the overall result is a negative that can never be ignored, Mbappe can take plenty of positives from his own performance.
Barcelona may have been the team hoisting the colossal Supercopa trophy in the Jeddah night air, but it was Atletico Madrid who emerged as the real winners this weekend.
Sunday’s final was so exciting because both sides are defensively flawed – Barcelona’s included a lot. Madrid may have conceded five goals, but the Catalans conceded more shots – most of which came when they had numerical parity.
Diego Simeone’s Atleti saw mayhem unfold after Osasuna got past them on domestic duty. That narrow 1-0 win marked a 14th consecutive victory – a new club record – and gave Atletico Summit of La Liga.
Simeone’s capital outfit have just a one-point gap over their city rivals – Barcelona are six points behind in third place and the three teams have played 19 matches – but Atlético boast the best defensive record of any club in Europe’s top five leagues. Spain.
