Barcelona rallied from an early deficit to overcome Real Madrid 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday, netting four goals in a commanding opening half and enduring the dismissal of their goalkeeper to secure a record-extending 15th championship.
Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Alejandro Balde all found the net before halftime, after French striker Kylian Mbappe gave Real the lead in the fifth minute. Raphinha added another in the second half while Rodrygo scored for Real.
Barcelona delivered a clinical performance to claim their first trophy in over a year, having no silverware from the previous season.
“Big clubs always aim to win titles; that’s our focus. But we need to demonstrate it in the upcoming matches,” Hansi Flick stated at a press conference after securing his first trophy as Barcelona’s manager.
“Real made numerous errors, and we capitalized on them to dominate the game.”
Barcelona denied Real a third title of the season, following their European Super Cup victory against Atalanta and their win over Mexico’s Pachuca in the Intercontinental Cup last month. “In the first half, we failed to play our game, resorting to long balls, which wasn’t the plan,” Real coach Carlo Ancelotti remarked.
“I told the players that they can lose matches, but not in the manner we played in the first half.”
SWIFT RESPONSE Mbappe secured an early lead for the Spanish champions, completing a solo run from the halfway line with a shot into the far corner.
But what appeared to be an ideal start quickly became a nightmare for Ancelotti’s team when Yamal equalized for Barcelona in the 22nd minute. Forward Lewandowski put them ahead 14 minutes later from a penalty awarded for Eduardo Camavinga’s foul on Gavi.
Raphinha extended the lead with a spectacular header from a superb long cross by Jules Kounde in the 39th minute, and left-back Balde added a fourth for Barcelona deep into stoppage time after nine minutes were added to the first half.
Yamal set up Raphinha with an accurate pass following Real’s poor corner kick, before the Brazilian forward left the ball for Balde, who scored with a straightforward finish.
Real began the second half with Rodrygo hitting the crossbar, raising hopes of the intense match taking another turn.
However, Raphinha quashed any chances of a comeback when he made it 5-1 three minutes into the second half, weaving past the Real defence.
Barcelona were reduced to 10 men when goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off for a foul on Mbappe in the 56th minute, and Rodrygo scored past substitute keeper Inaki Pena from the resulting free kick.
But Real, who hold a five-point lead over Barcelona in LaLiga after 19 matches, managed no shots on target after the penalty until Mbappe’s attempt was saved by Pena in stoppage time.
Barcelona also lost defender Inigo Martinez before the half-hour mark due to injury, with Ronald Araujo stepping in.
Barcelona and Real faced off in the competition’s final for the third consecutive time, with Ancelotti’s side winning last year, while Barcelona lifted the trophy in 2023.
Barcelona earned their spot in the final by defeating current Spanish Cup holders Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in the semi-finals, before Real triumphed over last year’s Copa del Rey runners-up Mallorca 3-0.