Super Cup Final
Athletic and Real Madrid repeat the semifinal of the last edition of the Spanish Super Cup, now with the crown defended by the lions at stake
Athletic and Real Madrid repeat the semi-final of the last edition of the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh, now with the crown defended by the lions at stake. After the rojiblancos left the current League champion in the gutter and the whites got rid of the King of Cups in the run-up to the decisive duel, the two protagonists of the old Spanish football classic will play the ninth final in its history. A pulse that, this time, will serve to define the king of the desert.
Marcelino García Toral’s team earned the right to fight to defend the title they lifted last year at La Cartuja in Seville after coming back, with two goals from set pieces, their semi-final against an Atlético submerged in a deep crisis of play and results. A double blow that sealed the pass to the fourth final played by Athletic since the arrival of the Asturian coach on his bench. He won the first, by beating Barça in extra time of the XXXVII edition of the Spanish Super Cup with a goal from Iñaki Williams, and succumbed in the next two, those two chained Cups that he saw escape at the hands of Real Sociedad and Barça in the span of two weeks.
Now it’s time to face Real Madrid, the fittest team in Spain, but which the Basque team put in serious trouble in the two clashes they have had this season. Carlo Ancelotti’s team won the match in the first round of the league, played at the Santiago Bernabéu, with a solitary goal from Benzema, several decisive saves from Courtois and a series of Atletico mistakes. And he stormed San Mamés three weeks later with a brace from the French striker, despite the fact that Sancet cut the advantage and the locals put up a fight until the end.
Athletic clings to that competitive nerve, the second squad with the best defensive numbers in the League and always a tough nut to crack for the big boys, despite the fact that their most recent disputes with Real Madrid show a very favorable balance for the whites. In fact, last year’s victory in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup, achieved thanks to a double by Raúl García, is the only one that the Biscayan team has achieved in its last fifteen pulses with the Chamartín troops. That meeting, by the way, sealed the fate of Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid. The camero played infiltrated by some discomfort in the left knee. After resentment, he only appeared three more times with the merengue jacket.
Athletic’s nightmare
However, history says that the lions have taken the measure of Real Madrid when it comes to finals, with a balance of six to two in their favor. The last precedent dates back to 1958, when the group coached by Baltasar Albéniz stole the Copa del Generalísimo in Chamartín itself from a team that was in the midst of its triumphant streak of five consecutive European Cups. El Torito Arieta and Mauri signed the goals that allowed the then president of Athletic, Enrique Guzmán, to affirm in a folksy way: «With eleven villagers we have passed them by the stone». Repeating that feat is the objective of Marcelino, who protects an orderly and compact block that appeals to the good timing of the Williams brothers and Sancet to counteract their recurring goalscoring deficit.
Overflowing with gunpowder, the most counterattacking Real Madrid that is remembered since the times of José Mourinho walks. The Whites were on the run again against Barça, but they struggle in closed spaces, so Ancelotti encourages Vinicius to attack from the inside as well. The loss of Carvajal will give Lucas Vázquez a reel on the right side, within an eleven with few edges in which the great threat for Athletic will once again be Benzema.
The striker from Lyon credits 17 goals and six assists in the 26 games he has played against the Biscayan team, his favorite victim, and has stamped his signature on nine of the last twelve goals that Real Madrid has endorsed to Marcelino’s team. The Whites’ chances of winning what would be their twelfth Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh may depend, to a large extent, on whether they continue their streak. For Athletic, twice runner-up, it would be the fourth.
Likely lineups
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Athletic:
Unai Simón, De Marcos, Yeray, Iñigo Martínez, Balenziaga, Nico Williams, Zarraga, Dani García, Muniain, Sancet and Iñaki Williams. -
Real Madrid:
Courtois, Lucas Vázquez, Militao, Nacho, Mendy, Casemiro, Modric, Kroos, Rodrygo, Benzema and Vinicius. -
Referee:
Soto Grado (Riojano Committee). -
Hour:
7:30 p.m. -
Stadium:
King Fahd (Riyadh). -
TV:
Let’s go.
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