FC Barcelona embarked on the trip to Jeddah knowing full well that they had the opportunity to win their first silverware of the season, the Spanish Super Cup. The Catalan club came into the tournament as defending champions.
Barcelona’s 2024/25 season under Hansi Flick could be divided into two distinct halves: pre-Super Cup and post-Super Cup. The German manager would have been hoping for a similar catalysing effect from the trip to Jeddah for the rest of the 2025/26 season.
The Catalan giants came into the final after thumping Athletic Club 5-0 in the semi-finals, whereas Real Madrid secured a slender 2-1 lead over their city rivals, Atletico Madrid. El Clasico in the final always makes for a great match, even for neutrals.
With all this in mind, here are three talking points for Barcelona from their 3-2 win over arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.
1: A 3-2 scoreline that doesn’t tell the full story
3-2 scorelines in football generally represent extremely closely contested games where two teams go head-to-head, and at the very end, one team nicks it with a moment of brilliance. Barcelona’s 3-2 win over Real Madrid in 2017, thanks to a late Lionel Messi goal, is a classic example.
The 3-2 last night in Jeddah is a scoreline that lies a little, though. Madrid came into the game with a very negative mindset from minute one, sitting deep and compact and asking Courtois to hoof the ball upfield at every given opportunity.
In all fairness, Barcelona should have blown Real Madrid away in the first 45 minutes, but thanks to a comical passage of stoppage time, it was 2-2 at the break. Although the second half was more even, it was still Flick’s team that had the better moments throughout.
Thus, this Spanish Super Cup final is not one of the El Clasico classics that will be remembered for a long time to come, but rather a night when Barcelona got the job done.
2: Raphinha and big games – A match made in heaven
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - JANUARY 11: Raphinha of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the Spanish Super Cup Final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium on January 11, 2026 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images
There is perhaps no footballer in the world who is more clutch in the biggest moments than Raphinha has been since the beginning of last season. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and the Brazilian was brilliant yet again last night.
Many people wrote Raphinha off as a one-season wonder after his criminally underrated 2024/25 season, and his first few months of this campaign were marred by physical problems. However, in recent weeks, the Brazilian has silenced his critics.
Last night, Raphinha was perhaps Barcelona’s most influential player on the pitch, alongside Frenkie de Jong. He never stopped running, never stopped pressing, and never let a missed chance or two get into his head.
When fit and in this form, the South American is perhaps Hansi Flick’s most important player, along with Joan Garcia and Pedri, and let us hope he can continue to impress for a long time to come.
3: First of many, dear Joan Garcia!
If Barcelona fans had to write a letter of affection to any single player this season, most of them would be addressed to Joan Garcia. The Spanish goalkeeper yet again showed the importance of having a solid shot-stopper in big games.
Despite all his exploits, last night was perhaps Joan’s biggest night of his career so far, playing in a final against Real Madrid and his first chance to win silverware. However, he did not let the occasion get to him.
Despite conceding two goals, both of which he could have done nothing about, the Spaniard had many impressive moments throughout the game, thwarting shots when Madrid were on top and positioning himself expertly in the dying minutes to save two gilt-edged chances.
A quick note of appreciation for his distribution as well, as Joan looked as assured as someone can be with the ball at his feet. He always made the right decision on whether to pass to the centre-back or the full-back, and, all in all, it feels like the first of many trophies that the Spaniard will add to his cabinet by the time he hangs up his boots.