FC Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup final, with a final score of 3-2, in the company of Real Madrid, in a match that was played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Catalan team managed to triumph for the second season in a row in this competition, reaching a total of 16 trophies awarded over time. Hansi Flick kept his record of finals that he finished as winner, eight in number, a performance achieved both on the bench of Bayern Munich and as a technician of the “blaugrana” formation. The Catalans recorded their 10th success in a row on all “fronts” and passed the rival from the Spanish capital for the fifth time in the most recent six direct meetings.

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid were competing for their first major trophy of the current season in Spain, and the team at the “Camp Nou” was looking for its second consecutive Super Cup, while the “Los Blancos” club had not won the trophy since 2024. In the semi-finals of the competition, the Catalans had managed to overcome Athletic Bilbao, with an incredible score of 5-0, unlike the group at the “Bernabeu” who defeated Atletico Madrid, by a narrow margin, with a final score of 2-1. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the two teams had also faced off a year ago, when the team trained by Hansi Flick would prevail by three goals, with a final score of 5-2.

The German coach could not rely on the services of Marc Andre ter-Stegen, Gavi and Andreas Christensen for this “El-Clasico”, while Xabi Alonso did not have Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eder Militao and Ferland Mendy at his disposal, but he could use Kylian Mbappe, who later traveled to the Gulf to join the Real Madrid squad. In the last direct duel between the two teams, the one in October last year, which was played at the “Bernabeu”, the club chaired by Florentino Perez managed to win with a final score of 2-1, but the statistics of the most recent such matches were in favor of the Catalans, who had recorded five victories out of six possible attempts against their rival.

The confrontation in Saudi Arabia began with overwhelming possession belonging to FC Barcelona, ​​respectively, with a defensive line consisting of five defenders displayed by Real Madrid. The first serious opportunity to open the scoring came a few minutes after the first half hour mark, when Lamine Yamal sent a long ball past the opposing defenders. Raphinha decided to finish without taking the ball, but his shot was a poor one, so the action ended without anything notable for the “blaugrana” team.

About a minute later, a successful recovery in midfield by Pedri allowed the same Brazilian winger of the Catalans to take the ball, advance with it on his foot, penetrate outside and send it on foot, to the far corner, without giving Thibaut Courtois much chance to intervene. Lamine Yamal then dribbled inside and passed to Fermin Lopez, but the shot from a tricky angle by the FC Barcelona central midfielder was blocked by the Belgian goalkeeper of the Spanish capital.

The Catalans’ “decade” tried his luck a few moments later, when he easily dribbled past Rodrygo and sent a powerful ball to the near post, but the same Thibaut Courtois opposed it. The goal would be scored on the other side, on a counterattack, when Vinicius Junior decided to launch a solitary action, the Brazilian footballer managing to slip the ball between Jules Kounde’s legs, simulate the completion, in the first instance, and, subsequently, score with a shot sent to the far corner that left Joan Garcia without a reply.

However, the final score of the first half would not be decided at the end of this phase, as Pedri received a ball in the central area and immediately filtered the ball for Robert Lewandowski, who, in a time and space crisis, lifted the ball over Thibaut Courtois and, with the help of the left post of the Madrid goal, put his team back in the lead on the scoreboard. Real Madrid had the “last word” in this half, because, at the end of a corner kick taken by Rodrygo, Dean Huijsen headed the ball, the ball being deflected by Raphinha into the crossbar, and then Gonzalo Garcia scored from the ground.

The second half began with a much more visible aplomb on the offensive side of Real Madrid, with the “los blancos” team recording a much better passing game than the one exhibited in the first 45 minutes of the Spanish Super Cup final. In the 51st minute of the match, Vinicius Junior reached a favorable position, after a series of dribbles, but the shot sent by the Brazilian player from the edge of the box was parried by Joan Garcia, and then the “seven” of the “galactics” completely missed the execution. With about 20 minutes left to play in this new episode of “El-Clasico”, Jules Kounde crossed into the middle of the box, where Lamine Yamal resumed from the fall, but Thibaut Courtois intervened promptly.

A few minutes later, Raphinha fired a right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area, and the ball, which was deflected by Raul Asencio, shook the opposing net, giving FC Barcelona the lead once again in this match. Kylian Mbappe entered the field in the last quarter of an hour, and the French star was subjected, in the 90th minute of the match, to a “violent” attack from Frenkie De Jong, the captain of the “blaugrana” team being sent off for the recklessness he showed. The “Galacticos” came close to restoring parity in the aggregate, but Alvaro Carreras shot into the center of the opposing goal, from an ideal position, at a time when the Madrid team was attacking with all its might.

Marcus Rashford wasted a crucial opportunity on the counterattack when the Englishman was left alone with Thibaut Courtois, and the last chance of the game was Raul Asencio, who, from a few meters, headed into the arms of Joan Garcia. FC Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup for the second time in a row and for the 16th time in its history, while Real Madrid remained at the threshold of 13 titles obtained in this domestic competition. Next, the Catalans will play against Racing Santander, in the round of 16 of the King’s Cup of Spain, and the “galactics” will meet Albacete in the same phase of the competition.