Last night for the fifth time in a row, Real Madrid showed the world who’s the best in Spanish League after defeating their old rival Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti’s side performed brilliantly and outnumbered Barcelona in every manner.
Although the match was tough, no one thought Barcelona would perform and manage to level the scoreboard. But Real knows their strength and there is the extra time, Federico Valverde became the ultimate savior and send his side to the finals.
The match was epic and breathtaking because at one point Barcelona’s young side showcased their true skills but not enough to seal the match.
Real Madrid head to the finals of Super Copa de Espana
The match began and Real’s dominancy too. In the 25 minutes of the first half, Vinícius Júnior gave his side an early lead with the great goal. But before the end of the first half, Madrid’s defender’s mistake cost them an equalizer from Barcelona.
The second half began, both the team played aggressively and Real Madrid tried every possible thing to get the lead. At 72 minutes, French striker Karim Benzema came to rescue his side by hitting the sweet spot. But Barcelona didn’t let Real Madrid enjoy their lead for too long in just 11 minutes, Ansu Fati scored to equalize the score and extend the game to extra time.
In the extra time, Real Madrid was fully in energy mode on the other hand Barcelona players looked tired and there Ancelotti’s side took the real advantage of it.
In the 107th minute of the extra time, Federico Valverde ended the equalizer and led his side to the finals with pure dominancy.
Barcelona was shattered with the only chance to reclaim their victory over Real Madrid. El Classico is considered one of the most popular rivalries in football, just like derbies in the English Premier League.
It was an even match – Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti said, “I think the team is prepared for this type of match. It was going to be a very even match. We were very effective at the start and on the counter. We failed to concede goals due to fatigue. The counter-attack was very effective. Good image of Spanish soccer. Barcelona played well and the match was very even. They caused us problems in the crosses, something they don’t usually do”.
On the final goal, he also expressed Modric’s absence did affect the game. “Without Modrić we lost something, but Valverde scored the goal that means we’re in the final. He is very quick in getting into the box and he scored the goal.”
On the other hand, he was angry at Gerard Pique as well. He explained the whole situation in a press conference, “I was angry with him.
I told him he should have kicked it out as we did once in the first half. He told me that they never kick the ball out in such situations and I said ‘sorry’ and that I didn’t know that. That’s respectable if they want to keep playing and not put the ball out. I just didn’t know that.”
On player’s status for the upcoming fixtures, he said, “It was just fatigue, so I think everyone can be back for Sunday. I hope that Alaba can return too. We’ll need to recover well because there was significant effort put into this game. But, we’re just happy to have progressed.”
Xavi proud of his team’s performance
“I was clear today that it was a day of responsibility with the ball. Today is a day to have high morale, even though in the end we lost. We played a full 90 minutes. Madrid’s transitions were our losses. We were superior to Real Madrid in many moments. We can’t have high morale because we lost. It’s a very important turning point”
“I am sad and angry because the game was there for the taking for us,” the Barca coach said in his post-game news conference.
“We played with a complex in the first 20 minutes, but we got over that. It was a day to be brave. This Barca side can compete against anyone. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was still a step forward.
“The feelings are contradictory because we could almost touch the win. I’m sad because it’s a Clasico defeat and we miss out on a trophy, but we dominated Madrid for large spells.
“We lack some experience, patience, responsibility. We made mistakes. We could have stopped [Madrid’s] counters and been more responsible with the ball. But we’re close.”
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