Barcelona triumphed 5-2 over Real Madrid in a thrilling Spanish Super Cup Clasico final in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, securing the first trophy of the Hansi Flick era. Real Madrid took an early lead through Kylian Mbappe’s brilliant counter-attacking goal, but Barcelona responded emphatically, scoring five times despite a late red card for goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Real Madrid, eager to avenge their 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in October’s La Liga Clasico, were left battered and bruised in Jeddah. After Mbappe’s early strike, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal leveled the score with a stunning individual effort, followed by Robert Lewandowski’s penalty to put Barcelona ahead. Raphinha added a brace, and Alejandro Balde also got on the scoresheet. Rodrygo Goes managed to pull one back for Real Madrid with a free-kick, but they couldn’t capitalize on their numerical advantage after Szczesny’s red card.
Both Hansi Flick and Carlo Ancelotti opted to field the same line-ups from the semifinals, with Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making a series of important saves early on. However, it was Barcelona who dominated the match, with Raphinha heading in Barcelona’s third and Balde adding a fourth just before halftime. In the second half, Raphinha completed his brace to make it 5-1.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Barcelona’s defense held firm, and although Rodrygo’s free-kick pulled one back, Real Madrid failed to capitalize further. Mbappe’s efforts were thwarted by strong defensive challenges, and Barcelona held on to claim a record-extending 15th Spanish Super Cup victory, leaving Real Madrid reeling from a humiliating defeat.
