Real Madrid won the derby they played against Atletico Madrid in the second semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a final score of 2-1. Federico Valverde opened the scoring in this game when he sent a “torpedo” from a free kick from a long distance, so that Rodrygo and Alexander Sorloth were the other scorers in this game, and Thibaut Courtois could be considered one of the heroes of the “los blancos” formation, as a result of the life-saving interventions he displayed. The students trained by Xabi Alonso qualified for the final of the competition, where they will dispute their first trophy of this season with the rival from Catalonia, FC Barcelona.

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid faced off in the second semi-final of the current edition of the Spanish Super Cup, a competition that takes place in Saudi Arabia, in Jeddah. The “los blancos” band came to this game after recording four consecutive successes in all competitions, while the “rojiblancos” band traveled to the Gulf after managing to tick off five consecutive matches without failure in all competitions, including four victories and a draw. The draw recorded by the group at the “Metropolitano” stadium took place in the most recent stage of LaLiga, when the team trained by Diego Simeone met, away, Real Sociedad, the final score of the match being 1-1.

On the other hand, the team from the “Bernabeu” won the duel that they played in their own “home”, in the company of Real Betis, final score 5-1, a match in which Gonzalo Garcia “shone” and scored three times, in the absence of Kylian Mbappe, the French player being injured in his knee during this period. The last time Atletico Madrid won a trophy happened in the 2020/2021 season, when the band from the capital of Spain would impose itself in that championship edition, and the most recent triumph of the “rojiblancos” group in the Spanish Super Cup took place in 2014, when the “victim” would be the rival in the city, Real Madrid.

Since the introduction of the new format in this competition that brings together the “forces” from Spain at the start, more precisely, starting in 2020, Real Madrid has reached the final of the competition every time, except for 2021, and, in the last act of the respective editions, the “los blancos” team won three times and lost the title on two occasions. Diego Simeone, in his coaching career, has faced the team from the “Bernabeu” the most times, on all “fronts”, namely 48 times, a time interval in which 13 victories, 15 draws and another 20 failures were recorded. Referring to the most recent direct duels between the two teams, Atletico Madrid managed to prevail in September 2025, when a championship match took place at the “Metropolitano”, the final score of the match being 5-2 in favor of the hosts.

Before the start of this duel, the “rojiblancos” had two titles in the Spanish Super Cup, while the rival from the Capital could boast a record of 13 trophies won in this competition, two lengths behind those from FC Barcelona. The match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, started brilliantly, because, from a free kick executed from over 25 meters away, from a central position, Federico Valverde shot extremely powerfully and took Jan Oblak by surprise, the Slovenian goalkeeper failing to intervene in the “torpedo” sent by the Uruguayan footballer through which the score was unblocked.

Then, a sensational run by Alvaro Carreras left Rodrygo in a favorable position, and after a short dribble that the Brazilian managed to pass to David Hancko, he tried to finish into the far corner, but the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper opposed it. Diego Simeone’s team “came out” a few minutes later, when Alex Baena’s long-range shot was saved in front by Thibaut Courtois. Another indescribable intervention by the Belgian Real Madrid goalkeeper occurred when Alexander Sorloth deflected a header off the far post from a corner taken by Koke.

The same Norwegian striker “stood out” in a negative way a few sequences later, when Conor Gallagher crossed to the far post with great effect, and the Villareal forward resumed from close range, but over the goal, although the position he was in was more than inviting. Thibaut Courtois once again rejected a tip-of-the-boot shot sent by Alex Baena, after the Atletico Madrid “tenor” had easily recovered a ball on the edge of the box, so that, immediately afterwards, Conor Gallagher shot past the “los blancos” goalposts.

The advantage on the scoreboard was doubled in the second half, when the first goal scorer, Federico Valverde, found an exceptional pass that allowed Rodrygo to penetrate the opposing defense and score from an angle with a shot sent to the far corner, on the ground, without giving Jan Oblak a chance to intervene decisively. Atletico Madrid reduced the handicap a few minutes later, after a phase in which Giuliano Simeone distinguished himself behind the opposing defense and crossed to the far post, where, this time, Alexander Sorloth rose and scored with an empty net.

The northern tip received a high pass from Koke, and, after dribbling outside Raul Asencio, decided to shoot strongly to the near corner, but the Belgian goalkeeper of the “Bernabeu” team was on the post and removed the danger. Rodrygo missed the opportunity to extend the gap from the general, when, after an error committed in the construction game of the “rojiblancos” band, he shot hard, in the middle of the posts, but Jan Oblak responded affirmatively to this attempt launched by the South American player. Entered during the game, Antoine Griezmann, was one step away from restoring equality, at which point the French “seven” acrobatically resumed from the cross coming from David Hancko, but Thibaut Courtois rejected.

Towards the end of the confrontation, a scheme staged by the players prepared by Diego Simeone at a corner kick, left Marcos Llorente in a free area to launch his execution, but the shot of the former Real Madrid player narrowly avoided the opponent’s goal. A last-ditch attempt by Atletico Madrid to push the game beyond the 90 minutes of regulation came from Julian Alvarez, but the Argentine striker could not get his shot off the rebound from inside the penalty area.

The clash in Saudi Arabia ended with a narrow victory for Real Madrid, a team that will meet arch-rivals FC Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final after the “blaugrana” team defeated Athletic Bilbao 5-0 in the other match in the “four aces” of the competition.