Hansi Flick’s Barcelona delivered a masterclass in free-flowing football on Sunday, 12th January, as they claimed a thumping 5-2 victory over Real Madrid at the King Abdullah Sports City to win the Supercopa de Espana.
The Blaugrana also exhibited immense dedication and mental fortitude after they went down to 10 men, not allowing comeback kings Madrid to turn the screws on them.
Barcelona Capitalize on Real Madrid’s Shambolic Defending in the First Half
The Catalans tested Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the fifth minute, with Raphinha heading towards goal from close range. The Belgian, however, was in a good position and caught the ball. Moments later, Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe scored on the other end, leading and finishing off a brilliant counter-attack. The Frenchman pierced the Barca rearguard with his pace before applying a surefooted finish.
Barcelona did not trail for long, with wunderkind Lamine Yamal latching onto a gorgeous through ball from Robert Lewandowski before side-stepping the Madrid defence and rolling the ball into the bottom-right corner of Courtois’ goal. Just past the half-hour mark, Eduardo Camavinga caught Gavi’s thigh inside the box, giving away a penalty. Lewandowski coolly put away the spot-kick to put Barca ahead.
The best trident in the world. pic.twitter.com/T6dD0L1ivN
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 13, 2025
In the 39th minute, Raphinha made it 3-1, heading in Jules Kounde’s world-class cross 10 yards away from goal. The Real Madrid defence left acres of space for the Brazilian to attack and then steer his header in.
Barcelona added a fourth to their tally in the first-half injury time, courtesy of a woeful corner-kick from Rodrygo. The Brazilian attempted a short corner, which went horribly wrong, allowing Barca to steal possession and hit on the break. Released by Yamal, Raphinha did well to hold off Fede Valverde before Alejandro Balde took over and applied an emphatic finish to beat Courtois.
Madrid Fail to Punish 10-Man Barca in Second 45
Barcelona scored their fifth goal in the 48th minute, shortly after Rodrygo rattled the frame of the goal with his strike. Marc Casado released Raphinha in acres of space down the left flank, allowing him to dash into the box, side-step challenges from Antonio Rudiger and Aurelien Tchouameni, and send the ball into the bottom-right corner.
In the 56th minute, Barca goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny got a direct red card for bringing down Mbappe just outside the area. Rodrygo even scored from the resulting free-kicking, making it 5-2, giving Madrid an outside chance of pulling off a comeback. Flick, however, brilliantly reacted to the situation, instructing his players to deploy a low block. Madrid tried to break through, but except for Mbappe’s injury-time attempt, which Inaki Pena heroically saved, they never looked like hurting the Blaugrana.
In the end, it was a fair scoreline, clearly depicting the gulf in quality and mentality between the two arch-rivals on Sunday.
