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Federico Valverde finished off an amazing move in the extra time to hand Real Madrid a 3-2 victory against their arch-rivals Barcelona in a thrilling Spanish Super Cup semi-final on Wednesday (January 12). Real progressed into Sunday’s final, where they will play the winners of Thursday’s game against the holders Athletic Bilbao and La Liga champions Atletico Madrid in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.
Vinicius Jr. scored the opener for Real after a counter-attack in the opening half, however, Luuk de Jong equalized just after half-time. Karim Benzema put Real back in front just at the 25-minute mark of the second half when he smashed with a rebound from the inside of the box. However, substitute Ansu Fati scored a goal which forced the game to go for extra time.
Real Madrid was a favorite in the opening game, however, struggling Barcelona provided a difficult game.
The King Fahd Stadium was supposed to be operating at 50% capacity due to COVID-19 fears. However, it was packed with fans who were thrilled to see the first ‘Clasico that was played in a different country than Spain. “We were very effective in the counter-attack and scored three spectacular goals,” Real coach Carlo Ancelotti told at a news conference.
Real Madrid sat back patiently and attempted to create attacks that could be countered by Vinicius and Benzema however they let Barca move closer to their zone. Xavi Hernandez’s team, which has seen a significant improvement, was dominant throughout the second half as well as extra-time and Ousmane Dembele was always a threat on the left side for the Real defense without David Alaba who was injured during the warm-up.
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