Once again Zinedine Zidane has got into a final. And once more, he’s done it. In his 9th Final commanding Los Blancos, Zizou has won all of them. This time, Real Madrid won the title of the Spanish Super Cup this Sunday for the 11th time in their history. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the team led by Zidane lifted the trophy after beating local rivals Atletico Madrid 4-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in both regular and extra times.
For the first time, the Spanish Super Cup was played by four teams. In the semifinals, Real Madrid eliminated Valencia with a 3-1 win last Wednesday, and Atletico Madrid left Barcelona out of contention with a spectacular 3-2 turn around the following day.
The two teams from Madrid played from the first minutes a balanced and very physical game, with rare scoring opportunities. In the first half, Atletico came close to opening the scoring after 14 minutes, when a finish from Portuguese Joao Felix went near the goal defended by the Belgian Courtois.
On the other hand, it took Real 43 mins to threaten goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Casemiro took advantage of a corner kick taken by Toni Kroos and sent a header that went wide.
After the break, Real Madrid fans were even closer to celebrate, as Zidane’s men were clearly the better side. Substitute Jovic received a pass inside the area and fired a ball that passed inches from the post.
Brazilian Rodrygo still had a chance to become the hero in the added time, as he was picked out inside the box, unmarked, but his shot went straight at Oblak, who made the save.
As the regular time ended up 0-0, according to the competition rules, both sides had to play in the extra time.
As incredible as it may seem, the game got a little bit more interesting. Both teams looked tired, but at the same time showed an offensive attitude to try to avoid the penalty shootouts. However, both keepers showed class and skills to keep the square scoring until the end.
There was still time for controversy and late drama though. A few minutes from time, Carvajal lost the ball and Morata drove forward on his own. It was going to be only the Spaniard against Courtois, but Uruguayan Valverde fouled him from behind on the verge of the box. Surely the Uruguayan was shown the red card, and both teams went at it on and off the pitch.
After everything was solved, the referee whistled for the last time, and there were supposed to be at least 10 penalties to be taken.
However, Atleti players were so despicable on the shootouts that Real didn’t even have to worry about it. Carvajal, Rodrygo, Modric and Sergio Ramos all scored for Real, as Atleti’s Saul and Thomas Partey all missed theirs. The first one sent it into the post, as the latter sent it at Courtois’.
Another big win from Real Madrid. Even though I think Atleti’s starters are better than Real’s, Zidane’s men know how to play a final. Or how not to play it, as you’re not supposed to play Finals, just win them.