Barcelona stormed to a commanding 5-2 victory over rivals Real Madrid in a thrilling Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, securing the first trophy of the Hansi Flick era.
Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring for Madrid, but a relentless Barcelona turned the tide with five goals, even after their goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny was sent off in the second half.
Madrid, eager to avenge their 4-0 La Liga loss to Barcelona in October, instead suffered another crushing defeat in Jeddah.
After Mbappé’s fifth-minute opener, 17-year-old Lamine Yamal dazzled with a stunning equalizer, showcasing Messi-esque finesse. Robert Lewandowski then put Barcelona ahead with a penalty before Raphinha netted twice and Alejandro Balde added to the rout.
Rodrygo Goes struck back for Madrid with a free-kick, but the European champions could not exploit their numerical advantage, leaving them to face the embarrassment of a heavy loss to their arch-rivals.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick lauded his team’s performance, saying: “Today is a good day because we beat one of the best teams in the world, for the second time this season, Real Madrid, and this is unbelievable. We won a title here, and we are really happy.”
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted defensive frailties were to blame. “We defended badly, and that cost us the game — they found their goals quite easily,” Ancelotti told Movistar. “It’s disappointing for us and our fans, but we have to look forward.”
Mbappé’s opener came from a blistering counter-attack, set up by Vinícius Jr., as the French forward clipped the ball past Szczesny. However, Yamal’s breathtaking solo goal — cutting in from the right and curling a low finish inside the near post — swung the momentum in Barcelona’s favour.
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