Real Madrid got into the final of the Spanish Super Cup this Wednesday after beating Valencia 4-3 in the penalty shootout after finishing 1-1 the first semifinal of the four-way tournament that takes place at the King Fahd stadium in Riyadh.
A penalty converted by Karim Benzema (39) put Real Madrid ahead, but Samuel Lino equalized with a goal-mouth shot (46) to send the game into extra time, where neither of the two teams managed to break the tables, deciding the match on penalties.
While Real Madrid did not miss their first four shots, Eray Comert sent his shot into the stands of the King Fahd stadium and José Luis Gayá ran into the save of Thibaut Courtois, who had become the hero of his team.
Real Madrid, current Super Cup champion, will face the winner of the duel that Barcelona and Betis will play on Thursday in the final on Sunday.
“I am very proud of the team, we have played with a great mentality, I believe that this is the path,” Valencia coach Gennaro Gattuso said. despite the defeat.
The merengue team started dominating, but Valencia He grew little by little in the match until he put his rival in a lot of trouble.
“It was a long-suffering, complicated game,” admitted Real Madrid coach Carlos Ancelottiafter the meeting.
– ‘The team is not at its best’ –
“We have found an opponent who has defended well. We have handled it quite well. We are happy because it is evident that the team is not at its best”, stated the merengue coach.
In the first minutes, Real Madrid managed to lock Valencia in their field, but the che team began to get rid of the merengue pressure when the Brazilian Samuel Lino, on loan from Atlético de Madrid, began to connect with his teammate Justin Kluivert, and Edinson Cavani appeared.
The Uruguayan forward connected a header to the center of José Luis Gayá, that forced goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (19) to shine.
After the initial white dominance, Real Madrid had to suffer until Militao scored a long ball for Benzema’s careerwho ended up knocked down in the area by Comert.
The action was sanctioned with a penalty, which the French striker himself converted (30) to finish the first part ahead on the scoreboard, although on the return Valencia soon equalized the score.
In the first minute of the second half, Lato put a ball into the area where Lino appeared to finish off the goal and make it 1-1 on the marker (46).
– Leading goalkeepers –
“That goal has disrupted our plans and Valencia It has also squeezed us,” considered Marco Asensio.
Very slow and inaccurate, the merengue team was only activated in the last quarter of an hour of the match when Benzema he was about to put his team ahead again with a header that went high (88).
In the best Merengue minutes of the second half, Vinicius lost one-on-one with goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili (90+5) and Valverde tried another long shot saved by the Valencian goalkeeper (90+7) to send the game into extra time.
In extra time, the game turned into an exchange of blows, in which the Real Madrid was more complete against a Valencia supported by its goalkeeper.
Mamardashvili once again took a great shot from the edge of Vinicius (92), before showing off another distant shot from Kroos (105).
Valencia was able to surprise with a shot from Fran Pérez that was saved by a providential Courtois (111), that later he would finish certifying the pass of the whites with his stop at Gayá.
