Real Madrid beat Mallorca to reach the final of the Spanish Super Cup Clasico
Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo gave Real Madrid a 3-0 win over Real Mallorca on Thursday and set up the Spanish Super Cup final with rivals Barcelona.
Madrid have a chance to avenge their heavy Clasico defeat in La Liga in October after Bellingham’s assured second-half strike put them on the road to victory in Saudi Arabia.
Thanks to the strong support of the fans in Jeddah, Madrid never looked like losing the lead and a Martin Valjent own goal in stoppage time secured victory, with Rodrygo Goes scoring the third from close range.
“It’s always hard to play against them, but we’re ready, we’re doing well and we want this (cup),” Rodrygo told Movistar, before praising Bellingham, who scored his eighth goal in his last 10 games for Madrid achieved.
“At the beginning of the season he had difficulty scoring, but he always kept his head up, trained every day to improve and the result of his work is there,” said Rodrygo.
Real Madrid edged past last season’s Copa del Rey runners-up early, with Lucas Vazquez and Rodrygo going close in the early stages.
Kylian Mbappe called for a penalty after going down under pressure from Dani Rodriguez but it would have been soft.
Jagoba Arrasate’s Mallorca found their footing and did well to limit the Spanish and European champions to no further clear-cut chances in the first half.
Madrid lost Aurelien Tchouameni early in the second half after he sustained a head injury in a challenge with Cyle Larin, although he confirmed after the game that he was uninjured.
Madrid broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute when Bellingham hit the post and Mallorca goalkeeper Dominik Greif kept Rodrygo and Mbappe at bay.
A brilliant move by Madrid bore fruit when Rodrygo’s header from Vinicius Junior’s cross hit the post and Mbappe’s effort was parried by the defenseless Greif.
Bellingham was in the right place at the right time to carefully sink the rebound past the defenders on the goal line, continuing his impressive individual form in front of goal.
“Jude is a phenomenal player, he constantly helps us win games, with goals, assists or just his work,” said Tchouameni.
Mallorca struggled to find their way back into the net and ended up contributing Madrid’s second goal when Valjent stretched to block a pass but pushed the ball into his own goal.
Rodrygo secured the victory late on, setting up a repeat of last season’s final, won by defending Super Cup champions Madrid.
