La Liga leaders Real Madrid secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Mallorca at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, 9th January to qualify for the 2025 Supercopa de Espana final.
They will meet arch-rivals Barcelona in the title decider at the same venue on Sunday, 12th January.
Real Madrid Deliver Solid Performance in Mallorca Win
Carlo Ancelotti fielded a strong XI in the Supercopa de Espana clash against Mallorca, with Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe, and Jude Bellingham all starting in attack. It took just four minutes for the bubbling Real Madrid attack to register their first effort of the night, with Rodrygo testing the goalkeeper from outside the box. Six minutes later, Aurelien Tchouameni tried his luck from range, but Dominik Greif was able to get down quickly to stop his low shot from creeping in.
In the 15th minute, Bellingham nearly scored for Real Madrid, as he sent his shot through a sea of Mallorca defenders. Greif had an obstructed view, but he still managed to get his hand on it.
🙌 ¡A LA FINAL!
🏁 Real Madrid 3-0 @RCD_Mallorca
⚽ 63' @BellinghamJude
⚽ 90'+2' Valjent (pp)
⚽ 90'+5' @RodrygoGoes#SuperSupercopa | @Emirates pic.twitter.com/IOmg7PQPbC— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) January 9, 2025
Los Blancos finally broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute, and it was Bellingham who got on the scoresheet. Mbappe dashed down the inside-right channel and played the ball wide to Vinicius Jr. The jet-heeled left-winger delivered a cross into the area, prompting Rodrygo to go for a diving header. His effort came back off the left-hand post and landed at Mbappe’s feet. The Frenchman took a couple of touches before firing at goal, but Greif made a superb block to deny him. Unfortunately, the loose ball fell to Bellingham inside the box, allowing him to side-foot it into the back of the net.
In the second minute of injury time, substitute Brahim Diaz tried to find Mbappe with a pass into the box. Martin Valjent slid in to keep the delivery from finding its intended target. However, his touch did more harm than good as it took the ball beyond Greif and into the back of the net. Rodrygo made it 3-0 three minutes later, poking in Lucas Vazquez’s cross from point-blank range.
Jude Bellingham Looked at His Best in Supercopa Win
Bellingham was at his world-class best in the win over Mallorca. He kept defenders on their toes with his movement, knocked the ball around brilliantly, created multiple goalscoring opportunities, and, of course, applied a fine finish to give Real Madrid the lead.
Over the course of the game, the England international completed 35 accurate passes (83% accuracy), created four chances, had 10 touches inside the opposition box, and pulled off two dribbles. He also made six recoveries, won seven of nine ground duels, and drew four fouls. It will be interesting to see if he can deliver another such masterclass in the all-important El Clasico this Sunday.
