**Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid** _(Vinícius Júnior & García). No trophy this time..._ Here is the immediate reaction to the final. Do not miss: Player ratings, spicy interviews and a live podcast with Kiyan.
Atlético Madrid had been beaten, but Barcelona would be a whole different beast in the Spanish SuperCup final. Kylian Mbappé was back, but only on the bench after being deemed not fit enough to start. This meant Gonzalo García got the nod, in a team only changed to fit Dean Huijsen into centre-back. Fede Valverde captained the team for El Clàsico.
Barcelona took control of the game early on, and despite not creating any clear chances for the first 25 minutes, they made Madrid work hard to stay in the contest. Vinícius Júnior got in behind a couple of times to remind the Catalans it was a final and Gonzalo García should have scored after driving into the area. Barcelona, however, deservedly took the lead through Raphinha after he squandered a similar chance moments prior. Just as it looked like they were going to run away with it, a moment of sheer brilliance from Vinícius Júnior drew the teams level right before half-time. The run, the nutmeg, the finish - all world class. Somehow, the first half was far from over. Robert Lewandowski capitalised on some terrible defending to put Barcelona back into the lead straight away. This was already over the initial three minutes added on, and the next goal would be even more outrageous. Aggrieved, Madrid went on the attack, and Dean Huijsen hit the bar after a corner found his head. Gonzalo García lofted the rebound perfectly over the keeper and defender to make it 2-2 when the break finally came.
The second-half brought back some calmness to the game, but the story was a similar one: Barcelona in control, and Madrid looking dangerous given the opportunity at the other end. Both Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo Goes came close to giving Los Blancos a lead. Lamine Yamal then had his first sniff of the game, hitting Thibaut Courtois right in front of goal. Raphinha then secured his second, after a slight deflection was enough to deceive Courtois. There was a small push at the end from Real Madrid (which even saw Frenkie De Jong dubiously sent off for a poor challenge) but an Álvaro Carreras horror miss and a tame Raúl Asencio header with seconds to go were not enough. 3-2, the final score - with Barcelona winning the Spanish SuperCup. What happens next?
See More:
* [Real Madrid CF: Domestic Cups](/real-madrid-cf-domestic-cups)
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