Xavi’s men claimed a hard-fought win over Betis despite their underwhelming performance at King Fahad Stadium.
Barcelona defeated Real Betis in the penalties to reach the Spanish Super Cup final. Betis came back into the game twice but couldn’t edge out their dominant rivals.
Super Cup final: Barcelona vs Real Madrid!
Barcelona started off as the better side despite a few dangerous attacks from Betis.
The Catalans thought they opened the scoring in the 24th minute, but the referee ruled out Pedri’s goal. Barca continued their attacks and finally broke the deadlock five minutes before half-time.
Robert Lewandowski converted a one-on-one situation as Barcelona found a perfect ending to the first period.
Xavi’s men continued their attacks at the beginning of the second period, but Betis gradually found their feet in the game.
The White and Greens finally clinched the equalizer when Nabil Fekir rifled a precise low shot from inside the box behind Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Barcelona pushed hard to score a late match-winner, with Lewandowski scoring another dismissed goal. But the game went into extra time as Betis blocked Barca’s firepower effectively.
It didn’t take Barcelona long, however, before they made it 2-1 through Ansu Fati in the extra time. Betis then went completely all-in with their attacks and managed to find a second equalizer through Lorenzo Moron Garcia.
Following a brilliant piece of build-up play, Moron flicked the ball past Ter Stegen from close range to make it 2-2. Betis went down to ten men later in the extra time. But it was too late for Barca to push for a match-winner. The Catalans were forced to face their opponents in the shoot-outs.
Thanks to two brilliant saves from Ter Stegen, Barca reached the final with a 4-2 win in the penalties. The Catalans will meet Real Madrid in the game for the Super Cup trophy on Sunday.
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