By Samuel A. January 12, 2025
FC Barcelona thrash Real Madrid in super style, coming from 1-0 down to win 5-2 in Spanish Super Cup final edition of El Clasico held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The two rivals had set up an El Clasico, with silverware on the line after they both beat Athletic Bilbao and Mallorca in the middle of the week, and it proved a captivating affair, with two dynamic forward lines showcasing their ability.
Madrid scored in the opening 5 minutes of the game, as Mbappe capitalized on a Marc Casado slight mistake to mount pressure on Real Madrid. However, Barca wonderkid Lamine Yamal went on a solo run on his own and slotted his perfectly executed shot past Thibaut Courtois to equalize. Almost a quarter of an hour later, Robert Lewandowski beat the Belgian from the penalty spot after Eduardo Camavinga hacked at Gavi and brought the number six down in the box. Raphinha’s excellent header from a Jules Kounde cross on 39 minutes gave Barca a two-goal advantage, just before the Brazilian set up Alejandro Balde to secure a 4-1 scoreline at half time.
Barca came roaring out of the traps following the interval, with Raphinha scoring his second of the night upon cleverly dribbling on the other side of a set of hapless white shirts to make it 5-1.
And while Rodrygo scored the free kick awarded when Wojciech Szczesny was shown a straight red for fouling Mbappe outside the 18-yard box, the Blaugrana held on for a record 15th title in the competition and won back the cup which Madrid relieved them of a year ago under Hansi Flick’s predecessor Xavi Hernandez.
Through victory, the German who took over the reins in the summer has now secured his first title in the Barca dugout and will hope that the comeback is a sign of things to come for the rest of the season.
The Blaugrana return to league action with an away trip to Getafe on January 18, however, before that, they will attempt to advance in the Copa del Rey by seeing off Real Betis in Montjuic on Wednesday.
