Another El Clasico, another thriller and another Barca win

Another El Clasico - another thriller!

For the third time in a row, Real Madrid and Barcelona faced each other in the Spanish Super Cup, with goals, chances and excitement being served in plenty.

Unlike the last two matches, which were won comfortably by Barcelona (5-2) and Real (4-1), this was by far the most exciting one.

Everything you can possibly imagine in football happened in this game: goals, chances, red card, scuffle, excitement, injury time scores….

Barcelona were better in the overall performance, but it was Real who lost this final 3-2.

And the Royal club had only themselves to blame for it.

Real players missed chances while the score was still 0-0.

Real‘s defender touched the ball which went into the net for the final score.

Further, they missed two incredible chances from five meters deep into injury time for the equalizer.

Real allowed themselves to fall behind three times in this game, too much for such opponent as Barcelona.

The only really motivated player for this final was Vinicius Jr., and that was also not enough.

Xabi Alonso had his problems with injuries in defense, and off course, Kylian Mbappe was not fit and could only play 15 minutes.

On the other side was Barcelona, whose overall performance was better, but better teams does not always win matches.

But luckily for their fans, Raphinha was there again to score a brace, and Lewandowski showed his goalscoring skills which won them another trophy against the bitter rival.

In last year‘s final, the score at halftime was 4-1 for Barcelona.

When this game started, and especially after the first 20 minutes, a few fans thought that this match could be as exciting as last year‘s one.

But it turned out to be quite the opposite. By the time Raphinha found himself on the scoring board in the 36th minute, we had already seen three good chances.

The first one was for Vinicius, who broke from the left, but instead of passing the ball to his teammates, he decided to shoot and missed.

It was the time of total domination of Barcelona (80% of possession), but the second good chance was again for Real.

Young Gonzalo Garcia was almost one-on-one with Joan Garcia but missed it.

And the punishment came through Raphinha. The Brazilian missed a sitter in the 36th minute as he was all alone in front of Courtois and then scored from a much tougher situation in the next attack.

His powerful and precise shot went straight into the far right of Real‘s goal for the lead.

And then Real equalized with an even better goal. Vinicius got the ball 45 meters from Barca‘s goal and passed through Kounde and into the penalty area where he dribbled and scored with fantastic precision.

It was the first of three goals that were scored in injury time.

The referee announced three, but the first half ended after eight minutes.

Just as Real fans celebrated the equalizer, Pedri made a perfect pass into the space for Lewandowski, who showed his goalscoring skills and scored in the fourth minute of injury time.

But Real did not give up and equalized again after a corner kick.

Raphinha prevented a goal but the rebound fell near Garcia who reacted instinctively and it was 2-2 at end of the half.

This equalizer was obviously a big morale boost for Real as they opened the second half much better.

Vinicius was by far their best player, and the Brazilian forward had one great opportunity.

He outmaneuvered Kounde again in the 52nd minute, but Garcia saved his shot.

His countryman Rodrygo combined with him in the 64th minute and tried his luck, but the shot was too weak for the Barca keeper.

The Catalans had their first chance in the second half in the 70th minute, when Kounde‘s cross was met by Yamal, but the ball went straight at Courtois.

Three minutes later, Raphinha took a shot which did not look too dangerous, but the ball touched Asensio and changed direction completely: 3-2 for Barcelona.

Xabi Alonso tried everything, introducing Kylian Mbappe, Guler, and Mastantuono, but his players ultimately missed the chances when needed.

De Jong got the red card in the 90th minute after a reckless foul on Mbappe and Barca was defending in injury time, but it was Carreras and Ceballos who missed sitters from five meters in the space of two minutes and condemned Real to another Super Cup defeat.

SPANISH SUPER CUP - FINAL

Sunday

Barcelona - Real Madrid 3-2 (2-2)

/Raphinha 36, 73, Lewandowski 45+4 - Vinicius 45+2, Garcia 45+6/