Federico Valverde opened the scoring with a spectacular early free-kick as Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid to book a Spanish Super Cup final clash against Barcelona.
Rodrygo added a second for Real in the 55th minute, before Alexander Sorloth pulled one back for Atletico. However, the 13-time champions held on to secure their place in Sunday’s final (19:00 GMT).
The semi-final, played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, saw a dramatic start as Valverde struck just 77 seconds in, blasting a 30-yard free-kick past Jan Oblak into the top corner.
Rodrygo extended Real Madrid’s lead 10 minutes into the second half with a clever finish past Jan Oblak, showcasing an impressive first touch to control a Valverde pass before swiftly leaving defender Robin Le Normand behind.
Alexander Sorloth headed in at the back post to halve Atletico’s deficit with over 30 minutes remaining, marking the only successful conversion from their 22 attempts.
The Norwegian striker missed a close-range header late in the first half from a precise Conor Gallagher cross, while Julian Alvarez, goalless in his last eight La Liga matches, narrowly missed a late shot deep into stoppage time.
Xabi Alonso’s team, missing the injured Kylian Mbappe, had to fight hard to secure the victory.
Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior – who hadn’t scored in 16 games – both had chances to score, but Real held firm until the final whistle.
Their win sets up a second Clasico of the season against Barcelona, following their 2-1 victory at the Bernabeu in October.
Hansi Flick’s Barcelona reached the final by thrashing Athletic Club 5-0 in Wednesday’s first semi-final.
The Spanish Super Cup is being held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after an extension of the tournament hosting agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Spanish Football Federation until 2029.
