Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 5-3 to secure a spot in the Spanish Super Cup finals on Wednesday at the Al-Alwwah Park in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia.
The match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid held significant importance for Los Blancos,as they aimed to avenge a 3:1 loss they succumbed to at the hands of city rivals,Atletico Madrid on matchday 6 in the on going La Liga Santander season.
The Colchoneros got off to a perfect start as they were able to secure an early goal in the opening ten minutes of the game;Samuel Lino’s curled shot towards the top right corner was tipped over the post by Kepa Arizabalaga to give Atletico a corner kick.
The resulting corner kick was executed by Antoine Griezmann,whose delivery was spot on.He found an unmarked Mario Hermoso, who rose highest and headed the ball into the inside right-hand post,giving Atletico the lead by a goal in the first quarter of the game.
Despite going down by a goal,the white angels did not lose focus and started to pressurize and dominate their city rivals, Atletico Madrid, with a big hope of getting an equalizer.
Their efforts paid off in the 20th minute of the game after Atletico Madrid’s defenders failed to deal with Antonio Rudiger,who produced a towering header inside the left post from an out-swinging corner kick from Luka Modric to equalize for Real Madrid.
The Los Blancos continued to pile pressure on the Los Colchoneros and were deservedly ahead;Ferland Mendy latched onto a precise pass from Daniel Carvajal and flicked the ball calmly through the legs of Hermoso into the bottom left corner to give Real Madrid the lead in the 29th minute of the game.
Antoine Griezmann was on hand to ensure parity for Atletico Madrid in the 37th minute with a brilliant piece of individual display,dropping two Real players to the ground before coolly slotting home.
After the recess,both teams started perfectly from where they left off, and both teams had their fair share of chances to add to their lead but failed.
In the 78th minute of the game,Atletico was gifted a goal after poor communication between Kepa and Antonio Rudiger,which resulted in an own goal to give Atletico Madrid the lead again.
Real Madrid were on the ascendancy throughout the final minutes of the game.Vinicius Junior made an excellent solo run down the wing in the 85th minute,but his effort on goal was parried away by Jan Oblak,into the path of Jude Bellingham who had an open goal at his mercy.However,the scintillating Bellingham failed to convert the rebound into the net,but was fortunate to have Daniel Carvajal on hand to expertly finish into the top left-hand corner to spare his blushes and ensure Real were back in contention.
At the end of 90 minutes,the match ended in a 3-3 stalemate and needed an extra 30 minutes to separate the two sides.
The game burst into life in the second half of extra time as there was nothing to write home about in the first 15 minutes.
In the dying embers of the game,with the game heading towards a shootout,the magical club showed up in typical Real Madrid fashion. Los Blancos were able to get a goal in the 116th minute from a Brahim Diaz cross,which deflected off Savic into the empty net to give Real Madrid the lead.
Atletico Madrids plight worsened;Brahim Diaz slotted the ball into the empty net to put the icing on the cake for Real Madrid,after initiatilly being involved in a foot race with Jan Oblak,who had moved to up field to join the attack from a corner kick.Diaz beat Oblak in the foot race and just a little after the halfway line,Diaz timed his strike to perfection to ensure Real run out 5-3 victors on the night.
The win against Atletico Madrid saw Ancelotti’s men book a spot in what would be their third successive Spanish Super cup finals.Madrid are aiming to clinch a 13th super cup title,which will bridge the gap between themselves and fierce rivals,Fc Barcelona,of whom they lost out to in last years finals.
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Story by : Rabbi Adu Agyei|univers.ug.edu.gh
