Barcelona Clinch Supercopa de Espana After Humbling Real Madrid in an Enthralling Final

After the whole Dani Olmo registration fiasco, Barcelona fans can celebrate once again after defeating Real Madrid in the Supercopa to clinch the trophy. The Blaugrana came from a goal behind to eventually win the game by a dominant scoreline of 5-2 to clinch a record-extending 15th Supercopa de Espana.

Barcelona's start to the final couldn’t have been rockier. Within just five minutes, Kylian Mbappé burst into action, weaving his way through the defense and delivering a clinical finish into the bottom left corner of Wojciech Szczęsny’s net. It was the dream start for Real Madrid, but their joy was short-lived. Once Barcelona found their rhythm, the tide turned completely. In the 22nd minute, Lamine Yamal leveled the score with an absolute stunner. From that moment, it was all Barca. The Catalans seized control, leaving Madrid scrambling to keep up. Raphinha bagged a brace with two expertly taken goals, while Alejandro Balde and Robert Lewandowski added their names to the scoresheet. By halftime, Barcelona had put on a breathtaking display, completely dismantling Los Blancos. The onslaught was so dominant that many disheartened Madrid fans began heading for the exits before the whistle even blew. 

Following the restart, Madrid attempted to bring the scoreline to a more respectable level. And within the first few minutes of the restart, Rodrygo hit the crossbar. Minutes later, Los Blancos were given a lifeline, as Szczesny received a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. From the ensuing freekick, Rodrygo scored Real’s second goal, narrowly beating Barca’s substitute goalkeeper Inaki Pena. With Real in the ascendancy now, a 10-man Barcelona had no choice but to dig deep and weather the storm. Despite the numerical advantage, Los Blancos struggled to capitalize on it. After their second goal, Madrid failed to register another shot on target until stoppage time. Even then, Kylian Mbappé’s late effort seemed destined for the net, but Barça’s stand-in goalkeeper Iñaki Peña pulled off a sensational save to deny him. 

This was the third straight Supercopa final in which Madrid and Barcelona faced off. Last year, it was Ancelotti’s Real Madrid who came out on top, but the Blaugrana claimed the trophy in 2023. This time, Barcelona ended their year-long trophy drought in style, also denying Los Blancos a chance to secure their third title of the season after their triumphs in the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. 

After the match, an elated Hansi Flick reflected on his team’s victory, saying, “For big clubs, the goal is always to win titles, and that’s why we work so hard. But now we have to prove ourselves in the next games. Real made a lot of mistakes, and we took full advantage to control the match.” His words summed up Barcelona's clinical approach and determination. On the flip side, Carlo Ancelotti didn’t hold back in expressing his disappointment with Real Madrid’s performance, especially in the opening half. “In the first half, we didn’t play football. We resorted to long balls, and that was never the plan. I told the players they can lose games, but not the way we played in that first half,” he remarked.