Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappé were embarrassed by Barcelona in the striker’s first clasico. More than two months later, they have a chance for some payback.
That 4-0 defeat will be on Madrid's mind on Sunday when it faces Barcelona for a second time this season in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The minor trophy disputed three thousand miles from Spain will mean extra cash for the clubs’ coffers and gauge how each enters the second half of the season.
Madrid has strung together some positive results since its home debacle against Barcelona, while the Catalan club has faded after a fantastic start to the season.
But Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday that his team will have to draw motivation from its stinging loss at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“Of course we’ll have to think about the first clasico of the season when they beat us,” Ancelotti said. “We have to see a repeat of the things we did well and avoid the mistakes we made later. A clasico is a clasico and the pressure is even greater in a final. Playing Barcelona in a final is always very special.”
When they met in late October, Robert Lewandowski scored twice and Lamine Yamal and Raphinha each piled on goals to humble Mbappé in his first matchup against Barcelona in the all-white Madrid shirt. Mbappé was tripped up during that game by the timing of Barcelona's defensive line, which left him offside no less than eight times.
Ancelotti said his players studied how to beat that precision high-line pressure by Barcelona.
“It’s a key aspect that we have assessed and we’ll have to evaluate and get around it. It’s an important facet of the game,” the Italian manager said.
Barcelona looked almost unbeatable nearly through the first three months under new coach Hansi Flick. But it has hit bumps since then and ceded its lead of La Liga after losing to minor opponents such as Las Palmas and Leganes, as well as a strong Atletico Madrid side, at home before the winter break.
So, after dispatching Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in the Super Cup semifinals, the rematch with Madrid will offer a good look at its form with the Champions League resuming in two weeks.
“It’s a big game for everyone, it’s a clasico in the Super Cup, and it would be fantastic if we could win,” Flick said. “It will be a boost for our confidence going into the rest of the season.
“The way we want to play is the Barça way, which did us so well in the last clasico. We won’t be doing anything different. But one clasico can’t be compared with the other. Tomorrow we will start from 0-0 and we just want to play well and win.”
Barcelona will be able to count on Spain midfielder Dani Olmo after the Spanish government stepped in to provisionally allow the club to register him with the league following a dispute over whether the club met a competition’s financial rules before a year-end deadline.
Lewandowski is among the hottest scorers in Europe with 25 in 26 appearance across all competitions for Barcelona. Raphinha has scored 17 times, while Yamal has added another seven goals plus a team-high 12 assists.
They will face an injury-depleted Madrid defense, but also a Jude Bellingham who is on fire with seven goals in his last eight La Liga games and the opening goal in a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the cup semifinals.
The final is at King Adbullah Sports City stadium, where Mallorca fans said they were harassed by local men who support Madrid after Thursday's semifinal. Two wives of Mallorca players said they were groped.
The Spanish Super Cup has become a major cash maker for the federation and competing clubs since the federation struck a deal in 2019 to hold it in the Middle Eastern kingdom.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press
