Real Madrid defeated Atlético de Madrid 2-1 in the Spanish Supercopa semifinal in Yeda, thanks to an early stunner from Federico Valverde and a goal from Rodrygo, though Alexander Sørloth pulled one back for the rojiblancos. Xabi Alonso's side, without Mbappé, overcame a possession-dominant but toothless Atlético. The Sunday final will be a Clásico against Barcelona, where the Frenchman might debut.
The match at Yeda's King Abdullah Stadium started with an immediate impact: at 76 seconds, Federico Valverde opened the scoring with a right-footed shot from 29.98 meters at 108 km/h on a direct free kick, beating Jan Oblak's three-man wall. “It was a cartoon goal, like from Oliver and Benji,” said Thibaut Courtois, Madrid's goalkeeper, praising the Uruguayan's strike that ended his scoring drought since June.
Atlético, under Diego Simeone, responded with dominance: 55% possession and 22 shots to Madrid's 8. Álex Baena and Julián Álvarez created danger, but Courtois shone with key saves, like on Sørloth's header and Baena's shot. Off-field tension arose: Simeone taunted Vinícius Júnior by shouting “Florentino's going to sack you, remember,” outraging Xabi Alonso: “Not everything goes, it's not a good sports example”.
In the second half, Valverde assisted Rodrygo for 2-0 at minute 54, but Sørloth headed the 2-1 three minutes later. Atlético pressed with chances from Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann but couldn't equalize. Alonso reorganized the defense with Tchouaméni as center-back after Rüdiger's injury.
Madrid's pragmatic win, despite lesser play, secures the Clásico final against Barça. Xabi Alonso confirmed Kylian Mbappé, recovering from a knee injury, travels to Yeda with chances of minutes: “Same as everyone in the squad”. Simeone regretted the initial wall error: “It started uphill with that stunner”. Koke summed up Atlético's frustration: “We're gutted because we wanted the final”.
This derby, the fourth straight Clásico in the Saudi Supercopa, highlights the rivalry: Valverde and Baena revived their 2023 feud with shoves on the pitch.
