Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid booked a Spanish Super Cup
final showdown against Barcelona after edging city rivals Atletico Madrid 2-1
in a tense semi-final clash in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
Goals from Fede Valverde and Rodrygo Goes secured a
fifth consecutive victory across all competitions for Los Blancos, while
Alexander Sorloth scored a consolation for Diego Simeone’s side in Jeddah.
The win continues Madrid’s resurgence under Alonso,
who was under pressure late in 2025 following a run of inconsistent results.
His side have since steadied and are now one match away from silverware.
Alonso, missing French superstar Kylian Mbappe due to
a knee sprain, retained young striker Gonzalo Garcia after his hat-trick
against Real Betis last weekend.
Madrid wasted no time in taking the lead, going ahead
after just two minutes. Valverde unleashed a thunderous free-kick that flew
past a poorly positioned Atletico wall and beat goalkeeper Jan Oblak, despite
the Slovenian getting a hand to the shot.
The Uruguayan celebrated emphatically, marking his
first goal of a difficult season and giving Madrid early control of the
contest.
With the lead secured, Real Madrid dropped deeper and
looked to strike on the counter, forcing Atletico to take the initiative. Oblak
later denied Rodrygo after the Brazilian cut inside from the right.
Atletico gradually found their rhythm and created
chances before the break. Thibaut Courtois produced fine saves to deny
Sorloth’s header and Julian Alvarez’s effort, while Sorloth also missed a
close-range opportunity from Conor Gallagher’s cross.
Rodrygo doubled Madrid’s advantage in the 55th minute,
bursting through the heart of Atletico’s defence before calmly slotting past
Oblak for his third goal in five games.
The Rojiblancos responded almost immediately. Three
minutes later, Sorloth rose to meet Giuliano Simeone’s cross, nudging past Raul
Asencio before heading home to reduce the deficit.
Atletico pushed hard for an equaliser in the closing
stages, but Courtois again proved decisive, saving an acrobatic effort from
Antoine Griezmann. Marcos Llorente curled a shot narrowly wide, while Julian
Alvarez flashed an effort across the face of goal deep into stoppage time.
Despite late pressure, Madrid held firm to book a
place in Sunday’s final at King Abdullah Sports City.
Real Madrid will now face Barcelona, who cruised past
Athletic Bilbao 5-0 in the other semi-final on Wednesday, setting up a
mouth-watering Clasico final in Saudi Arabia.
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