Supercopa: It’s El Clasico in Saudi!

Real Madrid vs Barcelona

Real Madrid and Barcelona come face to face in the 2024 Supercopa final on Sunday and, as all El Clasicos are, this one promises to be an epic.

The two teams are out in the Middle East to do battle as the region continues to enthusiastically promote the beautiful game, on the back of the Qatar World Cup in 2022 and the growth of the Saudi Pro League. The kingdom was the venue for Manchester City’s FIFA World Club Cup triumph last month and now Carlo Ancelotti and Xavi bring La Liga’s two giants to the Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh.

The pre-match Supercopa 2024 betting odds say the Saudi crowd is in for a treat; so let’s take a look at how the El Clasico giants reached the final and the SBOTOP selection of four fantastic players to look out for in Sunday’s showcase.

Talking Points

Los Blancos come through an eight goal thriller

Two injury time goals at the end of a breathless 120 minutes football gave Ancelotti’s side a 5-3 win over Atletico in the all Madrid semi-final. With the teams tied 3-3 in normal time it was an own goal from Atleti centre back Stefan Savic which gave Los Blancos the lead, and when Diego Simeone’s team threw everything into attack Brahim Diaz finished off a swift break to see Real safely into the final for the third consecutive year.

Earlier, Mario Hermoso drew first blood for Atleti with just six minutes on the clock, but Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy turned the tie in Los Blancos’ favour. The in-form Antoine Griezmann levelled for Atleti before half time, becoming Los Rojiblancos’ leading scorer of all time with his 174^th goal for the club and Atleti thought they were going through to the final when Rudiger scored at his own end, but the German centre back’s blushes were spared when Dani Carvajal nicked an 85^th minute leveller before Real Madrid pulled away in extra time.

Barcelona ease past Osasuna

Thursday’s semi-final was an altogether calmer affair as Barcelona cruised past 2023 Copa del Rey finalists Osasuna. The task was made easier when Osasuna centre back Alejandro Catena was sent off. The defender was given a yellow card for a bad tackle but VAR intervened and the ref upgraded it to red. And the numerical advantage was always going to tell when you have players like Robert Lewandowski in your ranks.

The Polish goal machine came close a few times before he broke the deadlock when he fired an unstoppable shot, low into the bottom corner, and any thoughts of an Osasuna fight back disappeared when teenage sensation Yamine Lamal scored an injury time second.

Barcelona will need to strengthen in January to haul themselves back into the title race; but money is tight and this trip to Saudi might be just what Xavi needs to give his players a timely boost.

Players to watch

Real Madrid’s signing of Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund has turned out to be the signing of the summer. The England man has put in a string of match-winning performances, scoring 14 goals in his first 15 games, a record for Los Blancos and he won the Kopa Trophy for the best young player of 2023. His box-to-box energy and superb all round skills make him a serious Ballon d’Or candidate for 2024.

Los Blancos other key player, Anton Rudiger, had an all action semi-final but Ancelotti will hope the former Chelsea centre back will be on his best form to counter the threat of Lewandowski and the 16 year old winger Lamine Yamal, who is still in the youth set up but has burst onto the scene this season. And then midfield maestro Ilkay Gundogan will have a fascinating duel with Bellingham for the control of the middle of the park.

History

Barcelona are ahead in the El Clasico stakes over the past three decades, winning 38 to Los Blancos 27, though Madrid won this season’s league El Clasico 2-1, coming back from a goal down as Bellingham scored a screamer then an injury time winner. While Barca will want to hit back Los Blancos will be looking before some revenge too as they lost the Supercopa final to Xavi’s men last year.

Ancelotti’s team have better form this season, unbeaten in 20 and with six wins on the bounce, but the Blaugrana are finding some momentum with three consecutive victories.

Betting Tip

It’s a fair way from Spain and Catalonia but I reckon the Supercopa 2024 highlights will be well worth watching and it’s a hard match to call; with Real Madrid at 2.26, Barcelona at 2.75 and the draw at 3.08. So I’m going for goals!

 

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