One of sport’s greatest matchups will grace the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah today at 2pm EST as Barcelona face fierce rivals Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup. The Defending champions Barca who beat Real last year, 5-2 are looking to repeat the outcome once again to add another trophy to their collection. Although there is a lot of pressure for both teams to outplay, outperform and outscore their opponent,Real and Xabi Alonso are under a bit more pressure since the new coach came into power the start of this season.
Barcelona celebrate their 15th Spanish Super Cup win (Image Courtesy: @FCBarcelona X Handle)
Alonso has steadied Real Madrid’s ship in recent weeks after a tumultuous period, but the Spanish Super Cup final seems a make-or-break moment for Alonso. Beating Super Cup holders Barcelona would bring Alonso the first trophy at the helm. Spanish media reported that Perez was set to sack Alonso if the team lost against Manchester City in the Champions League on December 10, which they did, but the team’s improved performance bought the coach another chance.Seeing how the first El Classico Real beat Barca 2-1. A second Classico win would surely add breathing room for the coach and give him more time to perfect, Los Blancos.
For Hansi flick’s Barca side they have to prepare for the return of Mbappe for the match today. Mbappe was out for the semi final game due to an injury but the french superstar seems ready and healthy for the final. “At the moment, Mbappe is the best striker… he’s scored many, many goals, and he’s a world-class player, that’s what I can say,” admitted Flick, after Wednesdays semi final match against Real Betis. Since the last meeting the two had the injured list has shrunk greatly, with now only Gavi, Marc-André ter Stegen and Andreas Christensen remain sidelined due to injury.
The stakes are always high during these match-ups lets see if Barcelona’s loss against Real was a small Hansi fluke. Or is Xabi Alonso’ Real Madrid turning into a bigger threat than Barcelona expected.
Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez celebrates scoring Barcelona’s second goal against Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup semifinal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia [Reuters]
