JEDDAH: Raphinha scored twice as Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup after beating Real Madrid 3-2 in an intense final at King Abdullah Stadium.
The El Clasico action took a dramatic turn with four goals scored in a short period of time towards the end of the first half.
After a balanced start, Barcelona began to dominate the game and opened the scoring in the 36th minute when Raphinha rushed into the penalty box before firing a low shot into the corner of the opponent’s goal.
Real Madrid equalised in the second minute of first-half injury time with a stunning solo goal from Vinicius Jr, who sprinted from the centre of the pitch, past two Barcelona defenders before finishing calmly.
The drama was not over when two minutes later Robert Lewandowski put Barcelona back in front after being given space in the penalty box to beat the goalkeeper.
However, the chaos continued before the break. From a Real corner, Raphinha made a clearance on the goal line, but Gonzalo Garcia grabbed the rebound which hit the crossbar and post before crossing the line, tying the score at 2-2 as the two teams entered the dressing rooms.
Raphinha secured Barcelona’s victory in the 73rd minute when he fired a shot from outside the penalty area. Despite slipping slightly as he attempted to do so, the ball hit the Real defender, eluding Thibaut Courtois before slotting into the net.
Towards the end of the match, the atmosphere heated up again when Barcelona were forced to play with 10 men after Frenkie de Jong was sent off following a tackle on Kylian Mbappe.
Real tried to take advantage of the numerical advantage, but failed to equalize when two close-range attempts by Alvaro Carreras and Franco Mastantuono were blocked by goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
The victory allowed Barcelona to win the 16th Spanish Super Cup title in the club’s history.