El Clasico becomes white once again! Real Madrid got a ticket to the final of Spanish Super Cup after defeating the Blaugrana. On Wednesday night, Ancelotti’s men got the best from the historical rivals. after clinching a thrilling victory in extra-time of the semi-final. The white team took the lead on two occasions through goals by Vini Jr. and Benzema but it was Fede Valverde who slotted in the winner in the first half of extra-time to seal our team’s place in the final, where they will face Bilbao, the winner of the Atlético Madrid- Athletic Club clash which was played on Thursday.
The first half hour of play saw Madrid carve out several chances and the first came in the 8th minute. Marco Asensio curled over from the edge of the area, his effort narrowly missing the target. Four minutes later, Luka Modrić played a precise ball through to Vini Jr., whose low shot was comfortably held by Ter Stegen. Asensio went close again on 19’, when the Majorcan cut inside from the right and on the half-volley curled the ball wide, after neat build-up play by Benzema and Vini Jr.
Our team was on top during this spell and got their rewards in the 25th minute after Benzema won back the ball from Busquets in the middle of the park before playing in Modrić who brilliantly set up Vini Jr. who to cut inside and slot home with his left foot, giving Real Madrid the lead. It looked like Ancelotti's men would take their lead in to the break but luck was against them as a Dembélé cross that was cleared by Militão hit Luuk de Jong's leg before coming back off the post to level up the match.
Both sides had chances in the second half which was played at a much higher tempo. Pedri received on the edge of the area in the 49th minute but his shot went just wide. The Whites hit back 20 minutes later after Benzema cut inside the area and unleashed a left-footed effort that struck the post. The Frenchman was on target in the 72nd minute after a Carvajal cross which Ter Stegen parried but the Frenchman was ahead of everyone to make it 2-1 with more than a quarter of an hour to play. Barcelona equalised in the 84th minute after a header from Ansu.
The semi-final was an end-to-end affair as Real Madrid looked to hit Barça on the counter-attack and that was how the Whites scored the winning goal. Casemiro started the move on the halfway line and fed Rodrygo down the right flank, who cut the ball back for Vini Jr. who dummied for Valverde to control and calmly place the ball in the bottom corner on 98’.
The first half of extra-time ended with a fierce strike from Dembélé that was pushed away for a corner by Courtois and the second half got underway an effort from Abde from the edge of the box which missed the target. Ancelotti’s team managed to hang on and even had the chance to add another goal, but Rodrygo was unable to beat Ter Stegen when one-on-one with the keeper.
Ancelotti’s words after the match:
Carlo Anqcelotti spoke in the press room at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, giving his thoughts on the El Clásico victory: "We were aware that it was going to be a very close encounter, and it turned out that way. We played well, particularly in the first half. In the second half we played very well on the counter-attack and in the end tiredness kicked in. It was an entertaining match and I think we put on a good show and gave a good account for Spanish football".
"Anyone could have won as two different styles of football came up against each other. They focused more on possession and we played on the counter-attack. We deserved to take the lead in the first half but the second half was more evenly matched. We defended deeper to take advantage of the counter-attack, which proved to be very effective. We found some quality moves on the counter and scored three fantastic goals", he added.
Controlling the counter-attack: "The low block is not particularly aesthetically pleasing, but it suits us due to the quality of the players we have up front, we need to make the most of it".
Praise for Modrić: "He's got tremendous quality and it's very difficult to put him under pressure, yet it was Valverde who scored the goal that took us to the final. We have to take evaluate things now. When Modrić doesn't play, we lose possession, but when Valverde plays for us, we gain verticality and attacking ability".
Carvajal’s impact on the side: “He’s a very important player for us because of his defensive qualities and the strength of character he has. His character is very important for the team and he remains a very important part of this squad”.
Fatigue for the final: “We were really tired at the end and that’s normal. I hope we can recover for Sunday and that Alaba is available. It’s been a massive physical and mental drain, but we’re happy and that will help us in our recovery”.
Barcelona: “They played well. They are improving as a team and today they used players who have returned from injury like Pedri, Ferrán Torres and Ansu. Xavi is doing a great job and the team will get better”.
The chat with Piqué on the pitch: "I said to him that they had to kick the ball out like we did in the first half. He said that they never kick it out and I apologised as I didn't know that".
Player ratings for the match:
Starting XI:
Thibaut Courtois: 7.0
It was a more normal, solid day in the office for Tibo. Barça forwards struggled to shoot on goal, and he didn’t have to make any miracle saves this time around. Maybe his positioning was not the best in that Fati goal, but it’s hard to blame him for either of Barça’s two goals.
Dani Carvajal: 6.5
A solid return for the starting right-back, but he had to deal with a very troublesome foe in Dembelé. His defense of Dembelé was a mixed bag: he was overwhelmed by the French winger towards the end of the first half, which led to some chances and Luuk de Jong’s goal. However, he recovered during the second half.
Eder Militão: 4
This was Militão’s worst game in a while. His clearance attempt bounced off De Jong for the first goal, and he lost aerial duels against De Jong in the first half and even against Ansu Fati for the second goal. We’ve seen what peak Militão looks like, and we know that he can do a lot better than this when defending the box. Even with the ball, he looked shakier than usual, struggling under pressure with only 82% of passes completed, including only 1 out of 9 attempted long balls.
Nacho: 7.5
Apart from his natural struggles in winning aerial duels against Luuk Airlines, it was a solid showing for Nacho. His ability with the ball is a bit underrated, and he was good against the Barça pressing, completing 95% of his passes and 5 out of 6 long balls. Most importantly, he didn’t make major mistakes in defending the box. Nacho was his usual reliable self.
Mendy: 8.5
Real’s best defender that night. Barça’s right-wingers were non-existent in this game, with Mendy easily taking care of Ferran during the first half and Abde during the second half and extra time. His superiority over Abde was shocking, with Abde’s dribbling attempts constantly crashing against the Mendy wall. To boot, Mendy also handled Barça’s pressure well, not losing the ball and even dribbling through Barça players several times (5 dribbles completed out of 6).
Casemiro: 8.0
Good game from Casemiro, not just because of his defensive work and all the attacks he intercepted, but also because of what he did with the ball. He passed quickly and accurately despite Barça’s pressure, and his ability to drive counterattacks forward is underrated. One such counter led to Valverde’s goal in extra time.
Kroos: 6.5
A bit of a tough game for Toni, who had Gavi breathing on his neck the whole time. He still completed 97% of his passes, but he couldn’t intervene in the game and drive passes forward as much as usual. There is only one key pass for him in this game, which is also lower than his usual standard.
Modrić: 8.5
He was key to Real’s dominance during the first 30 mins. Luka moved to provide a vital passing outlet for his teammates under pressure, and his movement, tight ball control, and passing found several holes in the Barça press. For example, he moved towards the right sideline to avoid the press and then launched passes into space for Asensio. He had less impact during the second half, but Real struggled to control the game once he was subbed out.
Asensio: 4.0
After arguably his most complete performance of the season against Valencia, Asensio dropped another poor game this time around. He was less active and dynamic in his runs than in previous games, and he didn’t always track back on time to help Carvajal defend against Alba and Dembelé.
Benzema: 9.0 He’s just on another level. He plays off Vinicius telepathically at this point, and their counterattacks were the biggest threat to Barça. He pickpocketed Busquets and assisted Vinicius for the first goal, and scored the second goal after two previous shots that hit the post and forced a big Ter Stegen save. And even as he was dragging his tired legs during extra time, he still managed to set up some counter opportunities for Vinicius and company.
Vinicius: 9.0
Also on another level, he struck fear into the hearts of Barça players every time he got the ball or ran forward. He completely outclassed Alves, and even Araujo couldn’t catch up to him during the first goal. Araujo started adapting and winning more duels against him during the second half and extra time, but in 2022 Vinicius can outsmart opponents in other ways. For example, his feint during extra time helped set up Valverde for the winning goal.
Subs:
Rodrygo: 7.0
He definitely improved on Asensio, with several dribbling runs that put Alba and Piqué in trouble as well as runs into space. He also set up the third goal with a textbook run and low cross to Valverde. However, he needs to be a bigger goal threat, and his last-minute miss does leave a bit of a bitter aftertaste.
Valverde: 7.0
Valverde has been struggling to contribute in possession lately and the team definitely lost a bit of control by replacing Modrić with him. However, Los Blancos also needed his fresh legs, defensive efforts, and his runs on the counter. One of those runs paid off and led to the game's winning goal.
Lucas Vázquez: 6.0
A solid cameo for Lucas. He did not make any major contributions in the offense, but he also did not make any major mistakes when defending Dembelé, which was the biggest concern about his substitution.
Camavinga: 6.0
A short cameo for Camavinga, who got to play in the last ten minutes of the game. Frankly, he could have played sooner since Kroos was not having a great day, and Real could have used his energy and movement earlier.
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