A long evening today, as it took 120 minutes and penalties, but eventually, FC Barcelona earned the spot in the Super Copa final vs Real Madrid. The ‘El Clasico’ final will take place on Sunday, at 21:00 CET.
Similar to other matches since the world cup break, Barcelona started this game well. At some point Barcelona had 81% possession against the team from the 3rd place in La Liga. Moreover, Betis are a team that like to have the ball at their fee as well. But Barcelona dominated, as Pedri and Gavi once again shined. Furthermore, Raphinha started the game well, and Dembele had one of those nights that he does everything right.
At the 22nd minute, Araujo with a vital intervention. Kounde looked to play the ball back to the goalkeeper but did not put any power on the pass. Fekir made the most of it, going around Ter Stegen who rushes out. With an open goal ahead of him, Araujo was there to put in a tackle.
One minute later, Raphinha chiped the ball into the box towards Pedri. The midfielder flicked it towards the goal. Bravo touched the ball but couldn’t keep it out. However, VAR disallowed the goal because of an offside.
It took 40 minutes, but eventually Lewandowski gave Barcelona the lead in the game. The ball came out to the right towards Dembele. The Frenchman moved the ball into the middle of the pitch and played it to Lewandowski. Inside the box, his first shot is blocked before crashing in the rebound.
Betis had some decent chances after the goal, similar to the match vs Atletico. But Ter Stegen was there to defend the goal. After 45 minutes, Barcelona had the lead.
Second Half
The second half was a lot more even. At half time, William Carvalho came in for Betis, and added a lot of power to their midfield.
At the 77th minute, Nabil Fekir was there to score the equalizer, after Henrique toyed with Barcelona’s defense. Marcos Alonso just entered the field, and it was clear that he had a hard time defending Henrique who is younger and a lot faster than him.
4 minutes later, and Lewandowski scored again! But once again, VAR was there to disallow the goal because Ferran Torres was caught offside.
Ansu Fati came in and almost prevented the extra time. At the 93rd minute, Ansu received the ball in front of Claudio Bravo, but the legendary goalkeeper was there to make a huge save.
Going to Extra Time!
Extra Time
The extra time started with a bang! It took Ansu 3 minutes to score a GOLAZO with his left leg. A huge moment for the youngster, and hopefully it will help to boost his confidence.
The second half of extra time was much slower, as both team were very tired.
Eventually the game went to penalties.
Ter Stegen is the hero
2 saves from Ter Stegen, and Barcelona won 4-2 on penalties.
A thriller of a game finishes with a victory for FC Barcelona. Now it’s time to rest and prepare for the Super Copa final vs Real Madrid on Sunday.
