Barcelona vs Real madrid : Spanish Super Cup final

Real Madrid secured their place in the Spanish Super Cup final after beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the semi-finals in Saudi Arabia.

Barcelona vs Real madrid

Federico Valverde scored a stunning goal in the first minute of the match from a free kick awarded after a foul on Jude Bellingham. The Uruguayan midfielder put Real ahead with a powerful shot from about 25 yards.

Atletico became more aggressive after conceding the first goal. Despite creating chances one after another, Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois defended the team with great skill. The Belgian star blocked several clear chances from Alex Baena and Alexander Sarlath.

Real Madrid increased the lead in the 55th minute of the second half. Rodrygo scored a great goal with a solo effort after receiving a pass from Valverde. The Brazilian forward entered the box from the right and found the net with a perfect shot.

Atletico took advantage of the opportunity to reduce the gap three minutes later. Sarlath headed in a cross from Juliano Simeone. After a few more attacks, Courtois’s determination failed to equalize Diego Simeone’s team.

Alonso replaced Vinicius Junior with Arda Guler in the latter part of the match. Vinicius’s streak of not scoring a goal reached 16 consecutive matches. At that time, when tension arose near the dugout as he was leaving the field, Atletico coach Simeone showed a yellow card.

Atletico was ahead in statistics—in addition to 55 percent of the ball possession, they took 22 shots, 6 of which were on target. On the other hand, Real Madrid took 8 shots, 4 of which were on target.

Despite the absence of Kylian Mbappe due to injury, Real Madrid won their first two matches of the new year. At the same time, they also took some revenge for the memory of losing 5-2 to Atletico in La Liga last September.

Real Madrid will face arch-rivals and current champions Barcelona in the final at the same venue next Sunday. The previous day, Barca secured the final by thrashing Atletico Bilbao 5-0 in the other semi-final. Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the two superpowers of football, are facing each other in the final of the Spanish Super Cup for the fourth time in a row.