Ultimately, it was an excessive amount of for even Actual Madrid to overturn. Barcelona claimed the Supercopa de Espana closing with a 5-2 victory over their fearsome foes in a bonkers contest on Sunday evening.
Very like the last Clasico in October, Barcelona scored 4 targets in a single half. Hansi Flick’s rampant Catalans racked up that quartet earlier than the half-time whistle within the Saudi Arabia-based showpiece, however Actual Madrid did not go down with no struggle.
Kylian Mbappe had opened the scoring earlier than Barcelona’s blitz and compelled the dismissal of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny on the hour-mark. Rodrygo diminished the deficit to a few targets, however Barcelona held on to earn a trophy which can distract, nonetheless briefly, the controversy that has surrounded the club of late.
How the sport unfolded
Barcelona had been warned. “Madrid are the most effective groups on this planet in transition,” Flick burdened forward of kick-off.
Kylian Mbappe wanted lower than 5 minutes to justify the fears of Barcelona’s supervisor, main a pitch-long counter-attack which started from a nook Actual Madrid had been initially defending. Vinicius Junior robbed Marc Casado on the sting of his personal workforce’s field and set Mbappe away. The Frenchman did every part however go away scorch marks within the turf as he hared ahead, twisting Alejandro Balde inside out earlier than stabbing past Szczesny.
Regardless of the early concession, Barcelona wouldn’t be deterred, taking management of possession and searching the ball after every turnover. Lamine Yamal, so usually the supply of the Catalans’ attacking inspiration, teased Flick’s aspect degree with an impossibly delicate end. Tiptoeing infield from the best wing, Barcelona’s teenage sensation bamboozled Thibaut Courtois with a dainty reverse which trickled into the underside nook.
Performed to the backdrop of a relentless low hum from the largely Real Madrid-leaning crowd in Saudi Arabia, there was a roar of disapproval when the referee pointed to the penalty spot within the thirty sixth minute. After a pitch-side evaluation, Jesus Gil Manzano agreed that Eduardo Camavinga’s dangling leg had been sufficient to fell Gavi. Robert Lewandowski made no mistake from 12 yards.
Raphinha doubled Barcelona’s benefit inside three minutes of the spot-kick. The Brazilian wandered into the yawning chasm which existed inside Madrid’s makeshift backline, thumping a robust header past Courtois to make it 3-1.
The primary-half epic stretched in the direction of an hour as 9 minutes of stoppage time had been tacked on. With the final kick of the unending half, Madrid had a brief nook intercepted by Yamal. The winger set his fellow goalscorer Raphinha away on a dizzying counter-attack which Alejandro Balde, bursting ahead from left-back, ended with a drilled end into the underside nook.
Carlo Ancelotti tried to stem the bleeding with the half-time introduction of Dani Ceballos, but the controlling Spaniard was helpless as Raphinha added a fifth for Barcelona inside three minutes of the restart.
Simply as Flick’s aspect gave the impression to be cruising in the direction of one other Clasico mauling, their very own flaws had been uncovered. Mbappe burst behind that infamously excessive backline and toed the ball away from Szczesny. Barcelona’s back-up goalkeeper hacked the Frenchman down and was dismissed after a VAR evaluation. Rodrygo picked out the highest nook from the ensuing free-kick, guaranteeing that Inaki Pena’s first job as substitute goalkeeper was to retrieve the ball from his web.
The tempo of a contest which did not a lot ebb and circulate as crash violently from one finish of the pitch to the opposite belatedly started to sluggish within the closing 20 minutes. Barcelona’s ten males reluctantly dropped deeper, irritating a Madrid aspect frazzled by a five-goal blitz on both aspect of half time.
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The Line – Saudi Arabia’s grand conception of a single metropolis stretching throughout 170km – may have been constructed in its entirety within the area between Aurelien Tchouameni and Lucas Vazquez when Barcelona scored their third of the night.
For all of the glitz and glamour of Actual Madrid’s assault, Raphinha’s free header was a potent reminder that half of the workforce’s rearguard on Sunday evening comprised of a defensive midfielder subsequent to an ageing winger.
Tchouameni gave the impression to be towing an invisible caravan when he tried to chase after Raphinha firstly of the second half, getting nowhere Barcelona’s vice-captain who promptly made it 5-1. On the subsequent break in play, Ancelotti hauled Vazquez off for Raul Asencio – a teen making his first Clasico look, however a minimum of he was accustomed to the calls for of taking part in in a back-four.
Ancelotti has been the driving power behind Madrid’s push for defensive recruits in January, whereas the membership are intent to avoid wasting up for a summer time spree. The Italian’s urgency will not have been quelled by a disastrous defensive show.
Raphinha sat out final yr’s Supercopa closing towards Actual Madrid, watching his teammates get thumped 4-1 whereas enduring the considered one of many niggling accidents that had been undermining his Barcelona profession. Quick ahead 12 months, and there was no likelihood of the Brazilian lacking Sunday’s showpiece.
In a sport which included 4 gamers who completed within the top eight of the 2024 Ballon d’Or, Raphinha – a participant not even nominated for the distinguished particular person award – outshone everybody else on the pitch.
Blessed with a tank that by no means empties and a thoughts as sharp as his flip of tempo, Barcelona’s rejuvenated vice-captain is having fun with the marketing campaign of his profession. Two targets and an help in Sunday’s closing takes him as much as 30 purpose involvements in 27 appearances this season.
Mbappe was framed because the laughing stock of the season’s first Clasico. The goal-less ahead not solely failed to seek out the online, however was caught offside a record-equalling eight instances. Solely as soon as did he power the assistant’s flag to be raised on Sunday.
The Frenchman, who opened the scoring with the kind of ruthless end which abandoned him for a lot of the primary half of the season, was initially deemed to be offside when he was felled by Szczesny after the break. But, upon evaluation, the semi-automated expertise vindicated Mbappe and led to an early bathe for Barcelona’s third-choice goalkeeper.
Even in second half stoppage time, whereas Vinicius watched on from the bench and Ancelotti left his quantity 9 on for the complete 90, Mbappe deftly pirouetted previous one blur of blue and crimson earlier than slipping a wayward Bellingham into the field.
Whereas the general result’s the one destructive that may by no means be ignored, Mbappe can take loads of positives from his personal show.
Barcelona could have been the workforce hoisting the big Supercopa trophy into the Jeddah evening air, however it was Atletico Madrid who emerged as the true victors this weekend.
Sunday’s closing was so enthralling mainly as a result of each side are defensively flawed – Barcelona very a lot included. Madrid could have conceded 5 targets, however the Catalans gave up extra pictures – most of which got here once they had numerical parity.
Diego Simeone’s Atleti watched the mayhem unfold after edging previous Osasuna throughout home obligation. That slim 1-0 win represented a 14th consecutive victory – a brand new membership file – and took Atletico to La Liga’s summit.
Simeone’s capital outfit solely have a one-point cushion above their metropolis rivals – Barcelona are six factors behind in third with all three groups having performed 19 video games – however Atletico boast the most effective defensive file of any membership in Europe’s prime 5 leagues, not to mention simply Spain.
