Real Madrid to face Barcelona in Spanish Super Club after beating Atletico

Real Madrid bushed cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid successful the Saudi-hosted Spanish Super Cup to acceptable up Barcelona showdown.

Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid bushed Atletico Madrid 2-1 successful a choky Spanish Super Cup semifinal successful Saudi Arabia to acceptable up a Clasico last clash against rivals Barcelona.

Fede Valverde’s free-kick and a Rodrygo onslaught connected Thursday helped Madrid assertion a 5th consecutive triumph crossed each competitions, with Alexander Sorloth pulling 1 backmost for Diego Simeone’s Atletico, who came up abbreviated successful Jeddah.

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Alonso was adjacent to the sack aft a tally of inconsistent signifier towards the extremity of 2025, but his squad person dilatory recovered their footing.

The Spanish manager led Madrid to a triumph implicit Barcelona successful his archetypal Clasico astatine the helm successful October, earlier his squad began to slump.

With French superstar Kylian Mbappe retired arsenic helium recovers from a genu sprain, Alonso kept young striker Gonzalo Garcia successful the centre of the onslaught aft his hat-trick against Real Betis connected Sunday.

Atletico bushed their metropolis rivals 5-2 erstwhile the teams met successful September successful a La Liga derby, but this was a acold person affair.

Los Blancos took the pb aft conscionable 2 minutes erstwhile Valverde’s ferocious free-kick flew past Sorloth successful a poorly positioned partition and rocketed past Jan Oblak.

The Norwegian Atletico guardant mightiness person done much to artifact it, and Oblak got his manus to the changeable but could not support it retired due to the fact that of the sheer power.

Valverde celebrated vehemently, slapping his ain head, intelligibly delighted astatine netting his archetypal extremity of a hard play to date.

By taking the lead, Real Madrid earned the close to beryllium deeper and unit Atletico to effort and onslaught them to propulsion backmost level.

Madrid deed the Rojiblancos erstwhile they could connected the counter, with Oblak redeeming good from Rodrygo aft helium floated wrong from the right.

Atletico began to make immoderate chances and could person pulled level earlier the interval.

Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tipped distant Sorloth’s header, and past the people antheral clumsily nodded Conor Gallagher’s transverse off-target from adjacent range.

Julian Alvarez, who has conscionable 2 goals successful his past 11 matches, fired towards extremity but was besides thwarted by Courtois.

Rodrygo extended Madrid’s pb successful the 55th infinitesimal with his 3rd extremity successful 5 games, continuing a affluent vein of signifier crossed the past fewer weeks.

The Brazilian recovered a spread to burst done successful the mediate of Atletico’s defence and kept his chill to expanse the shot past Oblak.

Sorloth strikes astatine last

Three minutes later, Atletico deed back, with Sorloth yet uncovering the nett with a header from Giuliano Simeone’s cross.

The striker gave defender Raul Asencio conscionable capable of a shove to enactment him disconnected without being penalised for it earlier nodding in.

Atletico came adjacent successful the last stages arsenic they tried successful vain to unit extra-time, with Courtois redeeming an acrobatic Antoine Griezmann effort, and Marcos Llorente whipping a changeable agonisingly wide.

Alvarez flashed a changeable crossed the look of extremity heavy successful stoppage clip arsenic Atletico’s hopes of silverware successful Saudi Arabia came to a speedy end.

Madrid look Barcelona connected Sunday successful the last astatine the King Abdullah Sports City stadium aft the Catalans thrashed Athletic Bilbao 5-0 connected Wednesday.