Spanish Super Cup Final: Real Madrid, Barcelona Gun For Supremacy As Real Betis Lose On Penalties

1 year ago
1 min read

La Liga giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona will battle for the Spanish Super Cup title on Sunday following Barcelona’s win against a resilient Real Betis side in Thursday’s second semifinals match.

Barcelona edged past Betis in a penalty shoot-out to set up a huge ‘El classico’ final that will pit Karim Benzema against Barcelona’s defence while Real Madrid’s inconsistent backline will face Robert Lewandowski’s might.

The influence wielded on the pitch by these superstars understandably is equated to what obtained when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo played in the La Liga.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved twice and Pedri converted the deciding spot-kick Thursday night as Xavi Hernandez’s men beat Betis 4-2 in Thursday’s shoot-out in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Madrid on Wednesday defeated Valencia, also on penalties, in the other semi-final on Wednesday, with the deciding match to take place at the King Fahd Stadium.

Nabil Fekir equalised for Betis near the end of regulation time after Robert Lewandowski had given Barcelona a first-half lead.

The score was 2-2 after extra time, with Ansu Fati giving Barcelona an early lead before Loren Moron equalised again for Betis.

 

READ ALSO: UCL: Barcelona, Inter In Six-goal Thriller, As Napoli, Bayern, Club Brugge Advance To Knockout Stages 

Betis played the final couple of minutes of extra time with 10 men after Andres Guardado was sent off for a second bookable offence.

“The match was super difficult, Betis made it tough for us,” goalkeeper Ter Stegen said.

“In the end it’s about making it to finals, and we’ve made it. You also need some luck in the shootout, and this time it was on our side.”

It will be the first time Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet in the Super Cup final since the competition was revamped and taken to Saudi Arabia in 2020.

“It will be a beautiful match,” Ter Stegen predicted.

“Everyone here wants to see a match like this and I’m thrilled to be able to play in it and to try to win it.”

Madrid will be trying to equal Barcelona’s record 13 Spanish Super Cup wins, while the Catalan club will aim to lift the trophy for the first time since 2018.

The Super Cup used to be contested between the Spanish league champions and the Copa del Rey winners, but now the runners-up in both competitions also participate in a final-four tournament that was taken to the Gulf state in a lucrative deal for the Spanish soccer federation.

Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.

In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.

He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.

Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.

He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.

Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.

Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.

Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.

In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.

He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.

Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.

He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.

Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.

Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.


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