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It wasn’t long before 2025 brought us its first El Clasico. The Spanish Super Cup final will feature Barcelona and Real Madrid, the third consecutive time these teams have appeared in the final, with both wins coming in 2023 and 2024. Since the 2020 final switched to a four-way format teams, it has been won by Barcelona or Real Madird and in the last three editions the team that won the final has also won the La Liga title at the end of the season.
Although it is a small sample size, it also shows that this competition is anything but a standard exhibition. For these teams, the stakes are always there, even if it’s just to gain a psychological advantage, but when silver is on the line, it will always mean more.
Last meeting
These may be different teams to the last time they met in October, but Barcelona will be hoping for a similar result. Hansi Flick’s men established themselves as genuine La Liga title contenders by winning that match with an impressive 4-0 scoreline. Robert Lewandowski scored a brace and more importantly, Barcelona managed to keep a clean sheet against a top team. The match highlighted a number of shortcomings in Carlo Ancelotti’s side, which have now been amplified as Real Madrid top La Liga. It was a closer match than the score suggested and this is a chance to showcase their growth.
How they got here
In Saudi Arabia, both teams won their semi-final matches with shutout victories, but in very different ways. Facing Athletic Club, Barcelona quickly took the lead through Gavi before controlling the match from start to finish. Lamine Yamal added the insurance goal to become the second-youngest player to ever score in the competition, behind only himself who scored against Osasuna last year. There are too few words to describe what Yamal is doing at 17, but he will be a key figure in the final.
Madrid got off to a slow start against Mallorca, but when Jude Bellingham opened the scoring in the 63rd minute, the floodgates opened. Los Blancos forced an own goal and allowed Rodrygo to score both in stoppage time, creating a result that was more reflective of their dominance throughout the match. They will now look to carry that momentum into the final.
Classical history
This match will mark the 259th time these two teams have met in official competition in what has always been a contentious rivalry. Barcelona have 101 wins, Real Madrid have 105 and the duo have drawn a further 52 matches. Even when it comes to goals, the statistics are close: Barcelona scored 423 and Real Madrid scored 433. Specifically in the Spanish Super Cup, this will be the 18th meeting, but Real Madrid has had the advantage in this competition by winning 10 games win and draw two. , and lost five to Barcelona. Barcelona are the most successful team in Super Cup history, having won the competition fourteen times, but Real Madrid can level matters with a win to add to their thirteen titles in the competition.
Registration gate
During this tournament, Barcelona has had to deal with a problem that has now been resolved issue concerning the registration of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor. Both players were registered for the season due to a provision that allowed Barcelona to use 80% of the salary due to an injured player. The problem is that registration only lasted until December 31 to give Barcelona time to secure new revenue streams or find other ways to comply with financial regulations. While Barcelona struck a deal to sell luxury seats at the Spotify Camp Nou, the Monitoring Committee of the RFEF-La Liga Coordination Agreement ruled that the duo still could not be registered because Barcelona could not prove that they had received money from it. handle on time. This has now been decided in court to register both for La Liga play, but that does not mean that Barcelona is out of the problem yet.
Star striker Raphinha talked about how this could affect deals for future players And while those consequences remain to be seen, it is quite a problem that Barcelona cannot guarantee a player’s registration for an entire season without having to file multiple appeals. When these kinds of problems arise since COVID, there is no telling when Barcelona’s finances will be in order.
Can Mbappe be the man?
After signing Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid were expected to dominate global football and while they are still going strong, this is not quite the runaway that was expected. A natural left winger, Mbappe has often occupied spaces occupied by Vinicius Junior for Los Blancos, leading to a sputtering attack for Madrid. There have been moments where he has shown he can do it, but they have been anything but consistent. With 13 goals and three assists in 26 games in all competitions, Mbappe is a long way from his usual scoring rate and has also missed two penalties this season.
On the plus side, Mbappe doesn’t have to be exactly the same man he was at Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid to win, but given their current lineup, he does have to embrace being the star number nine and get the win. in central positions on the field. That adjustment has taken place, but it will take time for being a left winger to disappear from his DNA.
Prediction
This is a match that will be fascinating as Barcelona’s offside trap has been effective in defending, but if it breaks they could be quite vulnerable. Mbappe is also a player who likes to play from the back shoulder of a defense, so he is prone to being offside by a disciplined defense. But in doing so, Barcelona also opens themselves up to threats, such as Federico Valverde dropping the ball over the top or taking long shots to test them. If Real Madrid can stop Yamal from controlling the flanks of the game, there is certainly a route to victory, but it will be a closely contested affair between the duo. Result: Real Madrid 3, Barcelona 2
Personnel choices
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday January 12 | Time: 2:00 PM ET
- Location: King Abdullah Sports City – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- TV: ABC | Live stream: Fubo TV (Try for free)
- Chances: Real Madrid +130; Sign +260; Barcelona +160