Barcelona beat Real Madrid to retain Spanish Super Cup

Barcelona edged past Real Madrid in a five-goal thriller to win back-to-back Spanish Super Cup finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

It marked a 16th triumph in the tournament for Hansi Flick’s side, with Barcelona also beating Los Blancos in last year’s final.

Brazilian forward Raphinha’s floated shot in the 73rd minute proved to be the winner after a frantic ending to the first half.

Three quick-fire goals in first-half stoppage time put the two on level terms at the break after Raphinha had opened the scoring, drilling into the bottom corner in the 36th minute.

Vinicius Jr equalised two minutes into three of added time, nutmegging Jules Kounde on a brilliant run before sliding into the far corner to score his first Real goal in 17 games, since 4 October, 2025.

Robert Lewandowski then clipped in off the post to restore Barca’s lead in the 49th minute.

But Gonzalo Garcia hooked in three minutes later after a scramble in the box that saw Dean Huijsen’s header hit the bar, as Barca boss Flick protested the the half-time whistle should already have been blown.

Frenkie de Jong was shown a straight red card in stoppage time after lunging in on Kylian Mbappe, who came on as a substitute having recovered from a knee injury.

Late chances at both ends made for a nervy finale with Marcus Rashford shooting wide when clear, while Alvaro Carreras and then Raul Asencio both shot straight at goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

But Barca held on to secure a second consecutive title for the first time since 2011.

Barcelona have now won 10 games in a row, last suffering defeat in November when they lost to Chelsea in the Champions League.

They have not lost to Spanish opposition since 26 October when Real beat them in the El Clasico at the Bernabeu.

Victory provides a first piece of silverware in what could turn into a fruitful season for Flick’s men, who sit four points clear of Real at the top of La Liga.

This was the fourth Clasico Super Cup in a row, while all three of Barca’s final wins under Flick have come against Real – two Super Cups and the Copa del Rey.

German boss Flick himself has now won all eight finals he has been involved in, including five with Bayern Munich.

For Los Blancos it has been a patchy season with four wins in their last six La Liga matches.

Inconsistency in the league and in Europe has not met the lofty expectations of the club and fanbase with questions raised over Xabi Alonso’s future in Madrid.

That pressure on the Spaniard seems to have slowly alleviated with five consecutive wins in all competitions, but this result could lead to those questions resurfacing.

The four-team Spanish Super Cup has been hosted in Saudi Arabia since 2020 and the Spanish Football Federation have extended the deal to continue to play it in the country until 2029.