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The 2024 Supercopa De España kicked off Wednesday with a Madrid derby when Real Madrid took on Atletico Madrid.
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History of the Supercopa de España
The competition was founded in 1982, when the winner of La Liga would face the champion of the Copa del Rey. Originally, there were two legs, but in 2018 the Supercopa was played in a neutral venue as one match.
In 2019, the competition was expanded to include the runners-up of La Liga and the runners-up of the Copa del Rey.
This season, Atletico qualified because Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey and finished as runners-up of La Liga. Los Colchoneros finished in third place, so they were given a spot in the competition.
The tournament is now played in Saudi Arabia after a three-year $120 million euro deal was struck between the Saudi Arabian government and the Royal Spanish Football Federation in 2019. The deal was then extended in 2021 for 10 more years.
End-to-End Football
After some early back and forth, Atletico Madrid opened the scoring from a corner kick in the 6′. Antoine Griezmann provided Mario Hermoso with a beautiful ball. With no one marking him, the Spanish center half-leaped into the air and headed the ball down to the far post. Kepa Arrizabalaga could do nothing but watch the ball wrestle the back of the net.
In the 13′, Rodrygo Goes went down in the penalty box after making contact with the outstretched leg of Saúl Ñíguez. After not much thought, the referee decided to not call a penalty and awarded Los Colchoneros with a goal kick.
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After Real Madrid began dominating possession, Los Blancos leveled the score in the 20′ off of a corner kick. Luka Modric sent an out-swinging ball into the box. Antonio Rüdiger ran into the open space and headed it down into the near post. Jan Oblak dove, but the German international’s header was too fast for the Slovenian shot-stopper.
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Real Madrid Tale the Lead
After Los Blancos scored the equalizer, Atleti struggled to earn the ball back. Just 10 minutes after the equalizer, Real Madrid took the lead.
Dani Carvajal had the ball at the edge of the box. Left-back Ferland Mendy made a diagonal run from the other side of the pitch. Carvajal played a ball into the Frenchman’s path megging Brazilian winger Samuel Lino. With one touch, Mendy flicked the ball with his left foot between the legs of center back José María Gímenez and scored.
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Antoine Griezmann answered with a beautiful goal with his weak foot. The forward received the ball from 30 yards out. As he dribbled, he shielded the ball away from Modric. As he approached Rüdiger, he made a world-class turn leaving the Croatian on the turf and the defender far behind.
From the edge of the 18, Griezmann buried the ball in the back of the net. Not only did it level the score, but the goal put him in front of Luis Aragonés, making the Frenchman Atletico Madrid’s all-time goal scorer.
Antoine Griezmann was completely marked by several Real Madrid players before beating all of them to score his all-time club leading goal.
World class ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/AZ6FgI1meT
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 10, 2024
In the 43′, Rodrygo had a chance to give Real Madrid the lead again. Ruddier sent him a ball inside the 18-yard box. After bringing the ball down, the Brazilian winger had two men to beat.
Stefan Savić tried to clear the ball by poking it. Instead, it put Rodrygo 8 yards in front of the goal. The Brazilian faked a shot with his right foot sending Gimenez flying the other way. The Real Madrid forward put his laces through the ball, but somehow Oblak made a miraculous save with his feet after diving the wrong way.
Goals Galore
The second half was where the game seemed to have cooled. Although there were some counterattacks, none of them had any real substance.
Atletico Madrid would take the lead thanks to an own goal by Rüdiger in the 78′. It was controversial, as Kepa contested a ball in the air with Morata. As the goalie punched the ball, the Spanish striker backed into the keeper. The ball went right into the German’s thigh and fell into the back of the net.
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Los Blancos immediately ran to the referee, Javier Alberola Rojas, and complained. After a conversation with VAR, the goal stood.
In the 85′, Vinicius Jr, was off to the races. He made his way behind enemy lines and only had the goalkeeper to beat. Oblak made a great save pushing the ball back into the middle of play.
Jude Bellingham ran onto the ball and struck it into a defender. The ball fell into Bellingham’s path again and he struck it with his left foot. Hermoso saved it on the line and deflected it into the path of Carvajal. The right-back did not mess around and blasted it top left into the goal.
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Ninety minutes wasn’t enough, and both teams prepared for extra time.
Family Affair Wins the Game
In the dying embers of the game, Real Madrid went on an attack. Dani Carvajal was sent a ball which he controlled beautifully with his chest. As he controlled it, the ball floated right over substitute Cesar Azpiliqueta giving the right back time and space. He spotted his brother-in-law Joselu in the box and sent in a cross. The striker went in with his head but made a terrible connection with the ball.
The ball ended up clipping the bottom of Savić’s cleat, bouncing over Oblak and entering his own net to put Madrid ahead by one goal with four minutes left in the match.
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In a last-ditch effort to tie the game, Atletico sent their goalkeeper up for a long throw into the box. Real Madrid cleared forcing Oblak to sprint back to retrieve the ball. Brahim Diaz, who was subbed into the match in the 81′, ran 40 yards to contest the keeper.
He somehow managed to get to the ball before Oblak and had a wide-open net staring him in the face. The Spaniard passed the ball goalward and it dribbled in making the game 5-3 in the 120+2′.
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Up Next
Real Madrid will play in the Supercopa de España final against the winner of Thursday’s game between FC Barcelona and CA Osasuna.
Final: Real Madrid 5 – 3 Atletico Madrid. Los Blancos will face either Barcelona or Osasuna on Sunday at 2 p.m. est in the Supercopa de España final. pic.twitter.com/PTLSVaiR7Y
— Joseph Torviso (@JosephTorviso) January 10, 2024
Atletico has two chances to get revenge on its rivals in the next 25 days. Both clubs will face off in the Copa del Rey round of 16 on Jan. 18 in the Metropolitano. Also, they will play against each other in the league on Feb. 4 in the Santiago Bernabéu.
