10-man Barca win Spanish Super Cup after Mbappe’s first Clasico goal
Barcelona recovered from a spectacular opening goal from Kylian Mbappe and the 56th-minute dismissal of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to beat Real Madrid and win the Spanish Super Cup at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
Madrid striker Mbappe stormed almost half the length of the pitch to score his first goal in the game known as El Clasico, but Lamine Yamal He equalized 17 minutes later when he charged after Robert Lewandowski’s clever first-time pass and coolly shot home after entering the penalty area.
Lewandowski converted a penalty, Raphinha parried a powerful header from Jules Kounde’s cross and Alejandro Balde completed a brilliant counter-attack to give Hansi Flick’s side a 4-1 lead at half-time. The Brazilian winger scored again three minutes after the break.
When Szczesny received a straight red card for denying Mbappé a clear chance to score, midfielder Gavi made way for Inaki Pena – who was substituted for lateness before Barca’s semi-final – to come on in goal.
Pena barely had time to compose himself before Rodrygo responded for Madrid with a superb free-kick. It was only modest consolation as the reigning European champions’ five-game winning streak came to an end and Barca took revenge in style for their 4-1 defeat in last season’s final.
The first half, in one picture. #ElClasico pic.twitter.com/DVH74c22CX
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 12, 2025
Barcelona storm to glory in the Spanish Super Cup
Since beating Madrid 4-0 in La Liga on October 26 and beating Espanyol 3-1 at home a week later, Barcelona have performed remarkably poorly against Spanish opponents.
Flick’s team were still top of the table at this point in his first season as manager, but four defeats and one win in seven league games have meant results like these may be crucial for his players’ confidence.
That they recovered to take the lead after Mbappe’s brilliant run and trickery made things all the more impressive, and their depleted ranks hardly mattered thanks to the three-goal lead they gained thanks to Balde’s goal ten minutes into stoppage time in the first had made half time.
In his second game back from injury after scoring in Wednesday’s 2-0 semi-final win over Athletic Bilbao, Yamal intercepted a bad pass near the edge of his own penalty area and hit Raphinha in a move that stands out as the greatest Part of the length of the pitch stretched and ended with Balde hitting the net.
🏆 Great! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/oNI37RtVUZ
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 12, 2025
Schedule Madrid, Barcelona
Madrid, which beat Mallorca 3-0 in the semi-finals, is five points ahead of Barcelona in second place The Leaguewith leaders Atletico Madrid one point further ahead.
After their trips to Saudi Arabia for the decisive Supercup games, there is now a quick turnaround for both teams. It kicks off when Barca host Real Betis in the Copa del Rey round of 16 on Wednesday (8:30pm GMT).
A day later (8:30 p.m.) Madrid will face Celta Vigo at home, and on Sunday (3:15 p.m.) 14th-placed Las Palmas will be guests in the league.
On Saturday (8 p.m.), Barcelona will aim for its first league win since December 3 when it travels to 15th-ranked Getafe, who have scored the fewest goals in the division.
