Barcelona came from behind to beat Real Madrid in an incident-packed Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia.
Kylian Mbappe gave Real Madrid the lead with a fantastic solo goal, running from the halfway line before slotting past Wojciech Szczesny.
Lamine Yamal levelled for Barcelona in the 22nd minute with an expert finish into the bottom corner from Robert Lewandowski’s ball.
Hansi Flick’s side then took command with three more goals before the break.
Poland striker Lewandowski put Barca ahead with a penalty after Gavi was fouled, before a bullet header from Raphinha three minutes later. The Brazilian winger then picked out Alex Balde to score a fourth in the 10th minute of added time in the first half.
Barca grabbed their fifth goal three minutes after the restart with Raphinha’s second of the game.
But they had goalkeeper Szczesny sent off for a foul on Mbappe outside the box in the 56th minute.
Brazil forward Rodrygo curled the resulting free-kick past replacement keeper Inaki Pena – but there was no further comeback from Real as Barca claimed the trophy for a 15th time in their history.
It marked the second time in two Clasicos under Flick that Barcelona have hit plenty of goals against their rivals, winning 4-0 at the Bernabeu in La Liga back in October.
It was also his first trophy – albeit a minor one – since a 2020-21 Bundesliga title success with Bayern Munich.
Who saw this one coming?
The result at King Abdullah Sports City was slightly surprising considering Real Madrid were the team in better form.
Barca have only won one of their last seven La Liga games and sit five points behind Real in the table – with Atletico Madrid top by one point.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men, meanwhile, had won their last five games in all competitions and were last beaten on 4 December.
Szczesny was making his third appearance for Barcelona, having waited months for a chance after coming out of retirement to sign earlier this season. He had kept clean sheets in the first two games but the straight red card, which could have potentially let Real back into the game, is now unlikely to do him any favours.
Former Leeds winger Raphinha’s double takes him up to 19 goals for the season, with Lewandowski moving on to 26.
This was the third Clasico Super Cup in a row, with Barca winning 3-1 in 2023 and Real winning 4-1 last year.
By BBC Sports
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