JEDDAH: Barcelona coach Hansi Flick commended Raphinha’s mindset after the forward struck twice to help his team beat Real Madrid and retain the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.
The Brazilian winger has seven goals in his last five matches, including a brace in the 3-2 win over Los Blancos in Saudi Arabia. Raphinha was out injured for around two months as Barca’s form dipped in October and November, but has come back strongly.
“His mentality is unbelievable, his dynamic affects the whole team,” Flick told reporters.
Raphinha missed a fine chance in the first half but almost immediately fired Barca into the lead in Jeddah. Then with the score tied at 2-2, the 29-year-old struck the winner from outside the area, with the help of a deflection.
“He missed the first chance but the second one, he was there and (scored) the first goal, and it gave the team more confidence,” continued Flick. “This is what Raphinha brings on the pitch, it’s a lot of intensity and we need this.”
Barca won the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid last season on their way to claiming a domestic treble.
Flick said he hoped the victory would help the La Liga leaders achieve their other ambitions this season.
“We are in a good mood, we have a lot of confidence now,” said Flick, after Barca’s 10th consecutive victory across all competitions. “This final was very important for us because against Real Madrid it’s always something special. Again we won a final, and this is fantastic.”
The match at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium turned into a thriller, with four goals packed into a breathless phase at the end of the first half.
After an even opening spell, Barcelona gradually asserted control before the interval, and were rewarded in the 36th minute when Raphinha burst into the box and drilled a low shot into the far corner to give his side the lead.
Xabi Alonso’s Real struck back in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Vinicius Jr collected the ball near the halfway line, surged down the flank, skipped past two Barcelona defenders and finished into the far corner in a stunning solo effort.
The first-half drama was far from over and two minutes later Robert Lewandowski was given space in the penalty area and finished with a delicate chip to restore Barca’s lead, only for the chaos to continue moments before the interval.
From a Real corner, Raphinha made a goal-line clearance, but Gonzalo Garcia pounced on the rebound, with the ball striking both the bar and the post before crossing the line, bringing the sides level once more as the teams went into the break.
Raphinha struck again for Barca in the 73rd minute after drifting into a dangerous position on the edge of the box. Slipping slightly as he pulled the trigger, his shot took a deflection off a Real defender, wrong-footed keeper Thibaut Courtois and went into the net.
As the clock ticked past 90 minutes, the temperature on the pitch rose again when Barcelona were reduced to 10 men after Frenkie de Jong was sent off for a foul on Kylian Mbappe.
Real pressed hard but failed to make their numerical advantage count, going agonisingly close when efforts from close range by Alvaro Carreras and Franco Mastantuono were both kept out by goalkeeper Joan Garcia to give Barcelona their 16th Super Cup title, with the defeat likely to bring back recent doubts around Real coach Alonso’s future.
“Whatever way you lose it hurts, but it’s clear that this was a very even game, hotly competed, with a bit of everything,” Alonso told Movistar. “We were very close to equalising, we fought it out until the end and I have to congratulate Barca.”
Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2026