Havana, January 12 (RHC) – Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup clásico and left with two prizes: the trophy and a victory in a final against Real Madrid, their fiercest rival.
The two best teams in the country delivered a match worthy of the hype surrounding them, a quality they had paid to bring the competition from the Iberian Peninsula to Saudi Arabia.
The game was more evenly matched than expected, given that Real Madrid struggled to find its rhythm and Barcelona dominated.
The opening stages of the final were a sluggish affair, lacking rhythm and excitement; one might even say it began half an hour after the initial whistle, were it not for a surging run by Vinicius that ended in a harmless shot and a couple of attempts by Raphinha that failed to find the target.
It was Raphinha himself who signaled the start of a Clásico in the 35th minute, slotting a shot past Courtois at the far post after a mistake by Rodrygo, which ended the chess match and kicked off the onslaught.
Real Madrid’s blistering pace countered Barcelona’s sluggish passing, and Vinicius once again took center stage in crucial moments. He received the ball near midfield, dribbled past Koundé, waited for him on the edge of the box to nutmeg him, and then rounded Cubarsí with a clever dribble to beat the Barcelona goalkeeper and equalize in stoppage time.
Lewandowski finished with more class than finesse on the next play, and Madrid continued to trail, finally leveling the score just before halftime with a clever goal from Gonzalo García, a true number nine in this era of false nines.
In the second half, it was more of the same: Madrid’s lines were compact, and they relinquished possession, which was to be expected from the initial setup, prioritizing ball recovery over brains in midfield. Barcelona lurked, finding their reward once again thanks to Raphinha’s legs and good fortune. His shot at Courtois deflected off Raúl Asensio’s leg, wrong-footing the Belgian goalkeeper in the 72nd minute.
Real Madrid could have equalized were it not for the opposing goalkeeper’s solidity and excellent positioning. And perhaps they would have remembered that matches are won in the opponent’s penalty area and suffered in the opponent’s.
Valverde’s injury to Real Madrid and the 3-2 scoreline forced the Uruguayan to be substituted, and the formation changed. Among the adjustments was the forced inclusion of Mbappé, returning from injury, who failed to make an impact in his limited playing time.
Real Madrid left a good impression, but defeats are not usually celebrated by the Valdebebas side, so their coach, Xavi Alonso, once again faced scrutiny from critics, although this time with stronger arguments in his defense.
Barcelona deservedly won, tipping the scales in their favor in the complex debate about who reigns supreme in Spain.
