Barcelona boss Hansi Flick and his squad have defeated their rivals Real Madrid on the second occasion this season. This time in the Spanish Super Cup (also known as Supercopa de España) final, Flick secured his first trophy for the Catalans with a 5-2 win.
As the Galacticos have overtaken Barca and sit on top of the La Liga, they were hoping to land another body blow on their rival and make a season head-to-head in the Supercopa de Espana final.
Madrid got off to a flying start when Kylian Mbappe broke the deadlock five minutes into the game, with the Frenchman dancing through the Catalonians backline and tucking home a tidy right-footed finish. However, that would prove to be the only high point for them on what would turn out to be a long and painful evening.
Barcelona turned the game on its head and betted four times before the break, with their vicious fightback being sparked by a similarly scintillating goal from Lamine Yamal, with the Spanish teen cutting inside on his deadly left foot before squeezing the ball beyond Thibaut Courtois for a leveller.
It didn't end there; the pressure mounted by Barca on Madrid continued as Raphinha converted Jules Kounde's whipped cross into the top corner with a header. And Barcelona added further to Real Madrid's woes with the last kick of the half; this time it was defender Alejandro Balde etching his name into the scoresheet with a tidy first-time finish from 15 yards out of the Real Madrid box.
The first half of the final ended as such with a 4-1 goal win against Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid. The drama continued after the 15-minute usual break in football, and a few minutes into the second half, the Catalans added a fifth goal. Exploiting the space behind Real Madrid's defense, Raphinha galloped away from his markers before cutting back onto his left foot and finding the bottom corner.
The Galacticos were then handed an unlikely route back into the contest when Barca keeper Szczesny, who had come steaming out of his net, caught Mbappe's ankle and was shown a red card. It proved a double blow for Barcelona as Rodrygo found the net from the resulting free kick.
Rodrygo's goal for Madrid was the last netting in the game. Barcelona maintained their pace for the next 36 minutes and twirled to this season's first piece of Spanish silverware. Despite some moments of shakiness at the back, they were good money for their victory, and on another day could've easily had more than the five goals to their name. This title adds up to 15 Supercopa de España trophies won, and the club looks forward to winning other domestic trophies and the UEFA Champions League.
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