Barcelona’s team won the Spanish Super Cup at the expense of their counterpart Real Madrid in the match held at the “Jewel of the Red Sea” stadium in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Barcelona scored four goals in the first half to overturn a one-goal deficit and held firm under pressure with ten players for most of the second half to defeat Real Madrid (5-2).
Barcelona played with 10 players starting from the 57th minute after the referee sent off Barcelona’s goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny for fouling Kylian Mbappé, who was one-on-one with the Polish player just outside the area.
Mbappé opened the scoring in the fifth minute after a quick start, capitalizing on a pass from Vinícius Júnior to crown a rapid counterattack.
But the response didn’t take long, as Lamine Yamal equalized after a brilliant individual effort, penetrating the penalty area to score a low, beautiful shot into the net in the 22nd minute.
And after a little over half an hour into the match, the referee awarded a penalty in favor of Barcelona following a VAR intervention and reviewing the incident on a pitchside screen due to a reckless tackle by Eduardo Camavinga against Gavi inside the area.
The Polish striker Robert Lewandowski succeeded in scoring the second goal from the penalty spot in the 36th minute.
And three minutes later, Raphinha extended his team’s lead with a powerful header, capitalizing on a precise cross from Jules Koundé from the right flank.
Alejandro Balde scored the fourth goal at the end of stoppage time, capping off a quick counterattack after Real players lost the ball from a corner near Barcelona’s penalty area following a brilliant run by Raphinha.
The excitement continued at the start of the second half when Rodrigo, a Real Madrid player, unleashed a powerful direct shot that hit the crossbar. Barcelona responded with a quick counterattack, finished by Raphinha with a shot into the net.
Twelve minutes into the second half, the referee showed a red card to Szczęsny after the VAR intervened and the incident was reviewed on a screen beside the pitch, where he had fouled Mbappé who was one-on-one outside the penalty area.
In the 60th minute, Rodrigo succeeded in scoring from the free kick awarded by the referee following a foul on Mbappé at the edge of the area.
Real Madrid’s attempts to come back in the score continued in the hope of exploiting their numerical advantage, but they were unable to find the net despite two clear chances missed by Jude Bellingham and Mbappé.
