Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick continued a fine record with another win in a final, as his side beat Real Madrid to lift the Supercopa trophy in Saudi.
Hansi Flick’s Barcelona were set to face their arch rivals, Real Madrid, for the second time this season, with both sides battling for the first trophy of the campaign.
A packed King Abdullah International Stadium provided the stage for the 263rd El Clásico, as the two giants met in the Supercopa final for the fourth consecutive time, further fuelling the intensity of this storied rivalry.
Barcelona entered the contest as clear favourites, reaching the finals with a whooping 5-0
win over Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Bilbao, arriving on the back of a 9-match winning streak
across all competitions and buoyed by Flick’s flawless record of seven victories in seven
finals, with his sights firmly set on an eighth. Real Madrid, by contrast, reached the final after
an underwhelming and narrow win over city rivals Atlético Madrid, leaving Xabi Alonso’s side
with questions to answer ahead of the showpiece clash.
Hansi Flick stuck to his trusted 4-2-3-1 system, making two changes from the side that faced
Athletic Bilbao. The Polish veteran, Robert Lewandowski, returned to the starting eleven to
lead the line, with Ferran Torres dropping to the bench, while teenage sensation Lamine
Yamal was restored to the right wing in place of 20-year-old Swede Roony Bardghji.
Xabi Alonso, on the other hand, opted for a switch to a 4-4-2 to add greater midfield
compactness. He made just one change to his starting lineup, with Antonio Rüdiger coming
in for Dean Huijsen at left centre back. Kylian Mbappé travelled separately to Jeddah, with
the medical staff clearing him to feature only for a limited number of minutes given the
importance of the occasion. As a result, he began the match on the bench.
The first clear opening of the match fell to Real Madrid. Left back Álvaro Carreras switched
play towards the left flank, where Rodrygo took a neat touch to open up space for Vinícius
Júnior’s forward run. After a heavy touch inside the final third, and despite Gonzalo García
arriving in the penalty area, Vinícius opted to go for goal himself, allowing Joan García to
gather the effort comfortably.
Barcelona asserted control in the early stages, dominating possession and holding the ball
for 78% of the time by the 20th minute. Their first meaningful chance arrived in the 26th
minute when Raphinha found space inside the box and went for goal, but his effort was
easily dealt with by Thibaut Courtois.
Real Madrid responded in the 32nd minute as Rodrygo cleverly flicked on a header to
release Gonzalo García, whose well-timed run between Cubarsí and Eric García kept him
onside. The La Fábrica graduate broke through Barcelona’s defence but could not convert,
with Joan García making another comfortable save.
A couple of minutes later, Barcelona carved out another golden opportunity. Robert
Lewandowski dropped deep into midfield and played a precise diagonal ball to Lamine Yamal on the right. With a first-time pass, Yamal sent Raphinha through on goal, but the Brazilian, off balance on his left foot, sent his shot wide.
Raphinha made amends in the Supercopa almost immediately. Fermín López intercepted a pass from Rodrygo in the 35th minute and fed the ball to Raphinha on the left flank. The winger nutmegged Aurélien Tchouaméni before firing a low shot into the far-right bottom corner, beyond the reach of the Belgian goalkeeper, to give Barcelona the lead.
Five minutes later, Lamine Yamal slipped a clever pass into the penalty area for Fermín
López, whose shot was met by a sharp near-post save from Thibaut Courtois, pushing the
ball out for a corner. Barcelona kept the pressure on as play resumed, with Lamine again
finding space inside the box and firing towards goal, forcing Courtois into yet another near-
post stop.
Barcelona appeared set to head into the dressing room with a 1-0 lead and were closing out
the half strongly when Vinícius Júnior produced a moment of brilliance, dribbling past Pedri
and Jules Koundé before finishing calmly to bring Real Madrid level.
The response from Barcelona was immediate. Within a minute, Pedri threaded a sumptuous
through ball into the path of Robert Lewandowski, who showed great composure to chip the
ball over Courtois and restore Barcelona’s lead at 2-1. The goal also carried historical significance.
It was the Polish striker’s sixth goal in just seven Supercopa appearances, a
remarkable return that moved him into joint third place on Barcelona’s all-time Supercopa
scoring list alongside club legends Txiki Begiristain and Hristo Stoichkov. Karim Benzema and
Raúl occupy second place, while the top spot needs little introduction, Lionel Messi, who
remains unrivalled with 14 Supercopa goals in 20 appearances.
Despite the referee indicating just three minutes of added time, Real Madrid were awarded
a corner deep into the 50th minute. Dean Huijsen’s powerful header towards the top right
corner was somehow kept out by an acrobatic Raphinha on the goal line, but the ball
rebounded off the post and fell kindly for Gonzalo García, who reacted quickest to prod it
home and make it 2-2.
Barcelona players were understandably furious with referee José Munuera, questioning how
the half had been allowed to stretch to the 50th minute despite only three minutes of
stoppage time being signalled.
Real Madrid emerged in the second half with renewed intensity. Within the first five minutes
of the second half, Jules Koundé and Pau Cubarsí attempted to track Vinícius Júnior’s run but
inadvertently afforded him space inside the box.
The Brazilian opted for a near-post finish instead of aiming across goal, testing Joan García,
who saved the initial effort. The rebound fell straight back to Vinícius in front of an open
goal, but he blazed the ball over the bar with his right foot.
Barcelona soon earned a free kick in a dangerous area, with Robert Lewandowski and
Raphinha standing over the ball. The Polish striker smartly stepped aside for the left-footed
effort from Raphinha, whose curling attempt cleared the wall but drifted just over the
crossbar.
Tempers flared soon after as Raúl Asencio became the first player to be booked, shown a
yellow card for an unnecessary challenge on Pedri. The foul sparked a brief melee in
midfield, during which the Real Madrid captain was also shown a yellow card for shoving
Raphinha to the ground, while Eric García was booked for confronting the referee.
In the 63rd minute, Madrid once again targeted Barcelona’s right flank. Vinícius Júnior laid
the ball off to the overlapping Rodrygo before receiving the return pass inside the box.
Crowded out by a wall of blue and red shirts, Vinícius saw his effort deflected into Rodrygo’s
path. The winger aimed for the far corner, but Joan García stretched full length to produce a
superb save and keep the score level at 2-2.
A minute later, Barcelona responded as their French right back, Jules Koundé, split the Real
Madrid defence with an incisive pass to release Raphinha inside the box. The Brazilian’s first
time cross, however, was turned behind for a corner by Eduardo Camavinga.
Hansi Flick was the first to turn to his bench, introducing the fresh legs of Dani Olmo and
Ferran Torres in place of Fermín López and Robert Lewandowski, respectively, in the 66th
minute. Xabi Alonso quickly followed with his first change, withdrawing Federico Valverde
for Turkish midfielder Arda Güler. As the Uruguayan departed, he handed the captain’s
armband over to Vinícius Júnior.
At the 70-minute mark, Frenkie de Jong produced a delightful outside-of-the-foot pass to
Koundé on the right, who squared the ball to an unmarked Lamine Yamal inside the box.
Sliding in to connect, the teenager forced an awkward save from Thibaut Courtois, who
managed to keep the scores level.
Barcelona was not to be denied, as just minutes later, Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo
combined brilliantly inside the penalty area, exchanging quick passes to open up the
defence. Ferran cleverly dummied the ball, leaving it for Raphinha arriving from behind, and
the Brazilian rifled a precise effort into the roof of the net. A slight deflection off Raúl
Asencio wrong-footed Courtois, sending him to the ground and giving Barcelona the lead for
the third time, sparking wild celebrations on the Barcelona bench around Raphinha.
The strike underlined Raphinha’s growing influence in El Clásico. It marked his 12th goal
contribution against Los Blancos in his last six meetings, nine goals and three assists, once
again delivering in a clutch moment to give the Catalan side the edge they had been pushing for throughout the second half.
In search of a third equaliser, Real Madrid turned to their bench. Gonzalo García, who had
been one of Madrid’s brightest performers in the first half and finished the night with a goal
and an assist, was withdrawn for Kylian Mbappé. Xabi Alonso also made a surprising change
in defence, replacing Dean Huijsen with the experienced David Alaba, who returned to
action for the first time in four months.
The tension continued to rise late into the night. In the 82nd minute, Álvaro Carreras
became the third Real Madrid player to be booked by José Munuera after pulling back a
spinning Lamine Yamal to halt a potential counterattack. Hansi Flick was also shown a yellow
card for dissent as he voiced his frustration at the foul on the teenager.
Alonso made his final roll of the dice soon after, withdrawing an underwhelming Eduardo
Camavinga for Dani Ceballos, while Vinícius Júnior made way for Argentine youngster Franco
Mastantuono. With Eric García, the only Barcelona player on a booking, Flick opted for
caution, replacing him with Gerard Martín. Raphinha, the hero of the night with two superb
goals, was also withdrawn as Marcus Rashford entered the fray to see the game out.
Three minutes after Barcelona made their substitutions, Pedri was shown a yellow card for
pulling Rodrygo back with both hands inside the centre circle. The midfielder then held on to
the ball to delay the restart, which prompted a shove from Arda Güler and further
heightened the tension on the pitch. As the clock struck 90, the fourth official indicated five
minutes of stoppage time.
Disaster nearly struck Barcelona in the opening minute of added time. Lamine Yamal lost
possession to Kylian Mbappé, and Barcelona’s captain attempted to recover the ball with a
desperate challenge, only to catch Mbappé on the shin. The referee had no hesitation in
producing a straight red card. Forced into a defensive reshuffle to see the game out, Hansi
Flick introduced Ronald Araújo for Lamine, who made his first appearance since his red card
against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in November.
Barcelona almost sealed the contest in the 94th minute. Ferran Torres released Marcus
Rashford into space on the right with a delicate pass, but the forward squandered a golden
one-on-one opportunity. Madrid continued to push until the very end, and seconds before
the final whistle, Güler delivered a pass from the left into Dani Ceballos, who laid it off for
Aurélien Tchouaméni. The Frenchman cleverly dummied the ball, allowing it to run to an
unmarked Álvaro Carreras, but the Spanish full-back’s low effort was hit straight at Joan
García.
Despite the 5 minutes of stoppage time having elapsed, Real Madrid were awarded a late
corner. Thibaut Courtois abandoned his goal to join the attack as Barcelona’s penalty area
filled with white shirts, creating a moment of chaos. The corner was eventually worked to
Mbappé at the far side, who attempted to lob the ball back into the danger area for Raúl
Asencio, but Joan García was once again perfectly positioned to collect calmly and extinguish Madrid’s hopes of a dramatic comeback. Ronald Araújo was quick to applaud his
goalkeeper’s composure as Barcelona sensed victory was secure.
Moments later, the final whistle blew, and the entire Barcelona squad erupted in joy. The
win marked their fifth El Clásico victory in the last six meetings and secured a fourth trophy
under the German coach.
The presentation ceremony followed, with Real Madrid players collecting their runners-up
medals before Barcelona stepped forward to receive the Supercopa. Raphinha was awarded
the MVP trophy for his decisive performance, while Araújo lifted the Supercopa amid
jubilant celebrations.
However, the ceremony was not without controversy. Xabi Alonso reportedly wanted his
players to give a guard of honour for Barcelona, a gesture Kylian Mbappé refused to take
part in, instead asking his teammates to retreat. The incident raised questions over
sportsmanship and appeared to underline Alonso’s limited authority over certain senior
players, with Madrid’s squad seemingly siding with Mbappé over their own club legend.
The fallout was swift. Xabi Alonso was dismissed the following day, with Castilla coach Álvaro
Arbeloa appointed as his replacement, while Antonio Pintus returned to the club as Real
Madrid’s fitness coach. Arbeloa’s first match in charge came in the Copa del Rey round of 16
against Albacete, who were languishing in 17th place in the Segunda División. Madrid’s
turmoil deepened soon after, as they were eliminated from the Copa del Rey, crashing out of
their second cup competition in the space of just four days and handing Arbeloa a difficult
start to his managerial tenure.
Barcelona, meanwhile, were set to travel to Cantabria to face Real Racing Club at El
Sardinero, with the hosts leading the Segunda División. Victory in this round of 16 clash
would see the Catalan side advance to the quarter finals in the Copa Del Rey and extend
their winning run to 11 consecutive matches. Barcelona just about got away with the victory, before then losing to Real Sociedad in what can be described as quite a frantic fixture.
Next up for Barcelona is a trip to Prague to face Slavia Praha in the Champions League midweek.
