Barcelona got here from an early aim all the way down to beat Actual Madrid 5-2 within the Spanish Tremendous Cup ultimate on Sunday, scoring 4 targets in a dominant first half and surviving having their goalkeeper despatched off to clinch a record-extending fifteenth trophy.
Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Alejandro Balde had been all on the right track earlier than halftime, after France ahead Kylian Mbappé put Actual in entrance within the fifth minute. Raphinha grabbed one other within the second half whereas Rodrygo scored for Actual.
Barcelona put in a scientific show to elevate their first trophy in additional than a yr, having had no silverware to indicate for final season.
“A aim for giant golf equipment is at all times to win titles, that is why we work arduous. However now we’ve to indicate it within the subsequent video games,” Hansi Flick instructed a information convention after successful his first trophy as Barça coach.
“Actual made many errors, and we knew methods to benefit from them to manage the match.”
Barca prevented Madrid from successful their third title of the marketing campaign, after they gained the European Tremendous Cup towards Atalanta and beat Mexico’s Pachuca to the Intercontinental Cup final month.
“Within the first half we did not play soccer, we hit lengthy balls and that wasn’t the concept,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti mentioned.
“I instructed the gamers that they’ll lose video games, however not in the best way we performed within the first half.”
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Mbappé earned an early benefit for the Spanish champions, ending a solo run from across the midway line with a shot contained in the far submit.
However what regarded like a dream begin shortly become a nightmare for Ancelotti’s males when Yamal levelled for Barca within the twenty second minute. Striker Lewandowski gave them the lead 14 minutes later from a penalty awarded for Eduardo Camavinga’s foul on Gavi.
Raphinha elevated the benefit with a surprising header from a superb lengthy cross by Jules Koundé within the thirty ninth minute, and left again Balde added a fourth for Barca deep into stoppage time after 9 minutes had been added to the primary half.
Yamal launched Raphinha with a exact move following Madrid’s depressing nook kick, earlier than the Brazil ahead left the ball to Balde who scored with a easy end.
Madrid began the second half with Rodrygo hitting the bar, sparking hopes of the hectic conflict taking one other flip.
However Raphinha quelled any sniff of a comeback when he made it 5-1 three minutes after the break, having slalomed previous the Madrid defence.
Barça had been left with 10 males when goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was despatched off for fouling Mbappé within the 56th minute and Rodrygo beat substitute keeper Iñaki Peña from the ensuing free kick.
However Madrid, who maintain a five-point benefit over Barça in LaLiga after 19 video games, had no photographs on aim after the penalty till Mbappé’s effort was denied by Peña in stoppage time.
Barcelona additionally misplaced defender Iñigo Martínez earlier than the half-hour mark by harm, with Ronald Araújo stepping in.
Madrid and Barcelona met within the competitors’s ultimate for third consecutive time, with Ancelotti’s aspect prevailing final yr whereas Barça lifted the trophy in 2023.
Barcelona booked their spot within the ultimate by successful 2-0 towards present Spanish Cup holders Athletic Bilbao within the semifinals earlier than Actual beat final yr’s Copa del Rey finalists Mallorca 3-0.