Real Madrid and Barcelona locked horns at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the semi-final of the Supercopa de Espana. In what turned out to be a captivating encounter, Los Blancos prevailed by the odd goal in five, as they saw off Barcelona in extra time to record a 3-2 win.
Vinicius Jr. continued his stunning form this season with a fantastic goal to break the deadlock early in the game, as he slotted the ball into the back of the net with his weaker foot after a couple of neat touches. However, Barcelona restored parity before the interval in rather fortunate circumstances, as Luuk de Jong got the final touch to a scruffy bit of play from close range.
Barcelona went toe-to-toe with Real Madrid despite heading into the game as underdogs but were pegged back once again in the second half, with Karim Benzema stamping his authority on the game. The Frenchman did brilliantly to draw a save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen and was at hand to tap home from a few yards out after being picked out by Dani Carvajal.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona clash lives up to the hype
With seven minutes left on the clock, the Catalans drew level for the second time in the game, this time through Ansu Fati. The substitute rose highest and got his head to a fantastic cross from Jordi Alba, with Thibaut Courtois left with no chance between the sticks for Real Madrid.
Deep into the first half of extra time, Fede Valverde stuck the telling blow in yet another El Clasiso as he slammed the ball home from inside the box to apply the finishing touches to a clinical counter-attack. The Uruguayan emerged as Real Madrid’s match-winner and was ecstatic after scoring, as he took off his shirt and ran to the corner flag to celebrate with his teammates.
The Supercopa de Espana encounter between the two great rivals turned out to be one of the most entertaining high-profile games of the 2021-22 European football season, with Los Blancos set to face either Atletico Madrid or Athletic Bilbao in the final on the 16th of January.
On that note, here are some of the best tweets from the clash of the giants.
Barcelona are winless in their last six El Clasico’s ???? https://t.co/mOd8qsqP92
Goals scored this season:• Vinicius + Benzema – 38.• Barcelona – 37.The best duo in the world. https://t.co/YkDEZuObK8
Karim Benzema has scored 23 goals in just 26 games for Real Madrid across all competitions so far this season.This is his 11th goal against Barcelona. https://t.co/J11Qsfgq2o
????Vinícius vs Barcelona:1 Goal62 Touches31 Accurate passes (81.6%)2 Dribbles2 Key passes9 Duels won2 Tackles5 Times fouledAlso heavily involved in the 3rd goal, something stats don’t show. https://t.co/UUCmlHb7WO
It has now been 3 years since FC Barcelona last beat Real Madrid https://t.co/iV30jPIAcc
Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t at Real Madrid anymore, but the entire stadium made sure to scream ‘SIUUUUU’ after Valverde’s winner ???? https://t.co/eHPhcZLKdu
Federico Valverde has scored his first goal for Real Madrid since October 2020.A collector’s item. ???? https://t.co/ACRIeEuuQz
Real Madrid’s last five games against Barcelona: Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid Barcelona 2-3 Real Madrid (AET)???? https://t.co/wkMN3TNxhi
Hazard still 0 minutes against Barcelona after 3 years ????
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