In the end, it was too much even for Real Madrid. Barcelona were crowned champions of the Spanish Super Cup with a 5-2 victory over their fearsome rival in a crazy match on Sunday evening.
Very similar The last classico In October, Barcelona scored four goals in one half. The Catalan side led by Hansi Flick achieved this quadruple before the half-time whistle in the match held in Saudi Arabia, but Real Madrid did not go down without a fight.
Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring before Barcelona attacked and forced goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to be sent off after the hour mark. Rodrigo cut the deficit to three goals, but Barcelona held on to claim the trophy that would distract the team, if only briefly Controversy surrounding the club late.
How the game unfolded
Barcelona has been warned. Flick confirmed before the start of the match: “Real Madrid is one of the best teams in the world that is going through a transitional period.”
Kylian Mbappe It took Real Madrid less than five minutes to justify the Barcelona coach's fears, as he led a counter-attack wide that started from a corner kick that Real Madrid had originally been defending. Vinicius Junior robbed Marc Casado from the edge of his own penalty area and cleared Mbappe. The Frenchman did everything but leave burn marks on the turf as he charged forward, twisting Alejandro Balde inside out before stabbing Szczesny.
Despite the early waiver Barcelona They will not be deterred, as they take possession of the ball and chase it after every turnover. Lamine Yamal, who has often been the Catalan side's attacking inspiration, troubled Flick's side level with an extremely precise finish. Tiptoeing from the right wing, he tricked Barcelona's young star Thibaut Courtois with a brilliant reverse shot that reached the bottom corner.
It is played to a background of a fairly constant low hum real madrid– Fans tilting in Saudi Arabia, booing rose when the referee awarded a penalty kick in the 36th minute. After a pitch-side review, Jesus Gil Manzano agreed that Eduardo Camavinga's dangling leg was enough to bring down Javi. Robert Lewandowski made no mistake from 12 yards out.
Rafinha doubled Barcelona's lead within three minutes from the penalty kick. The Brazilian navigated the widening gap inside Madrid's makeshift backline, curling a powerful header beyond Courtois to make it 3-1.
The first-half saga lasted about an hour, with nine minutes of stoppage time counted. With the final kick of the endless half, Real Madrid were awarded a short corner kick that was intercepted by Yamal. The winger put fellow goalscorer Rafinha wide in a stunning counter-attack, which saw Alejandro Balde race forward from the left-back and finish with a well-placed shot into the bottom corner.
Carlo Ancelotti He tried to stop the bleeding by bringing on Dani Ceballos in the first half, but the dominant Spaniard was helpless as Rafinha added Barcelona's fifth goal within three minutes of the start of the second half.
Just as Flick's side appeared to be heading towards another Clásico, their shortcomings were exposed. Mbappe raced behind the high defensive line and sent the ball wide of Szczesny. Barcelona's reserve goalkeeper hacked the Frenchman and was sent off after a VAR review. Rodrigo curled into the top corner of the resulting free-kick, ensuring that Iñaki Pena's first task as substitute goalkeeper was to recover the ball from his own net.
The pace of the game, which did not ebb and flow so much as violently crash from one end of the pitch to the other, began to slow late in the final 20 minutes. Barcelona's ten men reluctantly dropped deep, frustrating a Madrid side exhausted by a five-goal attack either side of half-time.
See the player ratings for the Real Madrid 2-5 Barcelona match here.
The line – the grand Saudi concept of a single city stretching across 170 kilometres – would have been built entirely in the space between Aurélien Chouamini 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 stark reminder that the team's back half on Sunday night consisted of a defensive midfielder alongside an aging winger.
Chouamini appeared to be towing an invisible caravan when he tried to chase down Rafinha at the start of the second half, but the Barcelona vice-captain got nowhere, immediately making it 5-1. At the subsequent break in play, Ancelotti recalled Vazquez for Raul Asensio – a youngster making his Clásico debut, but who was at least familiar with the demands of playing in a back four.
Ancelotti was the driving force behind Real Madrid Pressure on defensive recruits In January, while the club intends to save money in preparation for the summer. The Italian's urgency will not be assuaged by a disastrous defensive display.
Rafinha missed last year's Super Cup final against Real Madrid, watching his teammates lose 4-1 while suffering one of the many injuries that have undermined his career at Barcelona. Fast forward 12 months, and there was no chance the Brazilian would miss Sunday's game.
In a match that included four players, they finished the tournament Top eight for the 2024 Ballon d'OrRafinha – a player who was not even nominated for the prestigious individual award – outshined everyone else on the pitch.
With a tank that never empties and a mind as sharp as his speed, Barcelona's rejuvenated vice-captain is enjoying the season of his career. Two goals and an assist in Sunday's final took him to 30 goals in 27 games this season.
Mbappe was framed as joke In the first Clásico of the season. The scoreless striker not only failed to score, but was caught offside to equal a record eight times. Only once was he forced to raise the assistant's flag on a Sunday.
The Frenchman, who opened the scoring with the kind of ferocious finishing that has left him through much of the first half of the season, was initially ruled offside when he was brought down by Szczesny in the second half. However, upon review, the semi-automated technology excused Mbappe and led to an early downfall for Barcelona's third goalkeeper.
Even in second-half stoppage time, with Vinicius watching from the bench and Ancelotti abandoning his No.9 in the 90th minute, Mbappe brilliantly cut past the blur of blue and red before a wayward Bellingham slipped into the box.
While the overall result is a negative that can never be ignored, Mbappe can take a lot of positives from his display.
Barcelona may have been the team hoisting the massive Super Cup into the Jeddah night air, but it was Atletico Madrid who emerged as the real victors this weekend.
Sunday's final was very interesting as both teams have defensive deficiencies, including Barcelona. Real Madrid may have conceded five goals, but the Catalans gave up more shots – most of which came when they were tied.
Diego Simeone's Atletico watched the chaos unfold after beating Osasuna during home duty. The narrow 1-0 win marked a 14th successive win – a new club record – and took Atletico to that Top of the Spanish League.
Simeone's capital side are just one point ahead of their city rivals – Barcelona are six points behind in third place with the three teams having played 19 matches – but Atletico boast the best defensive record of any club in Europe's top five leagues, let alone only Spain.
