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Barcelona recovered from a spectacular opening goal by Kylian Mbappe and the dismissal of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the 56th minute to beat Real Madrid and win the Spanish Super Cup at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
Madrid striker Mbappé charged almost half the pitch to score his first goal in the game known as El Clàssic, but Lamine Yamal He equalized 17 minutes later, pouncing on Robert Lewandowski’s clever first-time pass and calmly slotting home after breaking into the box.
Lewandowski converted a penalty, Raphinha buried a powerful header from Jules Kounde’s cross and Alejandro Balde completed a brilliant counter-attack as Hansi Flick’s side made it 4-1 at half-time, with the winger Brazilian who fired again three minutes after the break.
When Szczesny was shown a straight red card for denying Mbappé a clear goal-scoring opportunity, midfielder Gavi made way for Inaki Pena, who was sent off before Barca’s semi-final for late, to slot in on goal.
Pena barely had time to settle until Rodrygo answered for Madrid with a sublime free kick. It proved to be only modest consolation as the reigning European champions’ five-match winning streak came to an end and Barca avenged their 4-1 defeat in last season’s final in style.
The first half, in one picture. #ElClásico pic.twitter.com/DVH74c22CX
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 12, 2025
Barcelona achieves the glory of the Spanish Super Cup
Barcelona have had a poor run against Spanish opponents since beating Madrid 4-0 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 from seven league games have made results like these potentially crucial for his players’ confidence .
That they bounced back from Mbappé’s dazzling run and snare for the opener made it all the more impressive, and their depleted ranks mattered little thanks to the four-goal cushion they had created with the help of the goal de Balde at 10 minutes of added time in the first half.
In his second game back from injury after scoring in Wednesday’s 2-0 semi-final win over Athletic Bilbao, Yamal collected a loose pass near the edge of his own penalty area and found to Raphinha as part of a move that spans most of the length. of the field of play and ending Balde finding the net.
🏆 𝐒𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐀𝐀𝐀𝐀! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/oNI37RtVUZ
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 12, 2025
Matches from Madrid, Barcelona
Madrid, who beat Mallorca 3-0 in their semi-final, are five points clear of second-placed Barcelona The Leaguewith the leader Atlético de Madrid one more point ahead.
There is now a quick turnaround for both teams after their trips to Saudi Arabia for the deciding Super Cup games, starting when Barca host Real Betis in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday (20:30 GMT) .
Madrid are at home to Celta de Vigo a day later (8.30pm), with 14th-placed Las Palmas away in the league on Sunday (3.15pm).
On Saturday (8:00 p.m.), Barcelona will aim for their first win in La Liga since December 3, when they travel to 15th-placed Getafe, who have scored the fewest goals in the division.
