Good evening, I’m Josh Hills and I’m here at the King Fahd International Stadium for the Supercopa de España final between Real Madrid and Athletic Club.
The holders, Athletic Club, are looking to defend their title and come into the game having not lost in their last 4 matches. After beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the semi final, they will be looking to beat the other side of Madrid to get their hands back on the trophy and bring it back to Bilbao for successive years
Real Madrid are also unbeaten in their last 3 matches and have already completed the double over their opponents in the league this season. They needed extra time to beat Barcelona in the semi-final but Federico Valverde stepped up and won the game for them. Carlo Ancelotti is looking for his first piece of silverware since his return and will be hoping to lift the cup today, a trophy he is yet to win.
THE LINE-UPS ARE OUT:
Athletic Club stick to the same XI that beat Atletico Madrid, meaning match-winner Nico Williams doesn’t find his way into the team, but is more than likely to feature of the bench.
Real Madrid on the other hand have 3 changes from their Semi-final victory, Rodrygo, Lucas Vazquez and David Alaba come into the team replacing Dani Carvajal, who has COVID-19, Marco Asensio, who went of with a muscles strain, and Nacho Fernandez, who is on the bench this evening.
6:26PM: The teams are out and doing their final preparations before the refs whistle.
Embed from Getty ImagesKICK OFF
4′- a slow start with Real Madrid dominating the possession in the opening encounters yet are being patient in their attempts to attack.
8′- Rodrygo breaks into the box but Inigo Martinez gets his foot in there before he can get a shot off.
11′- After Karim Benzema’s shot was blocked and cleared by Martinez, Athletic go up the other end in a swift counter attack and Iker Muniain’s driven ball evaded the foot of Inaki Williams.
Embed from Getty Images18′- Benzema finds himself in a pocket of space and he tries to bend it into the far corner but Unai Simon judges it well and tips it past the post.
25′- Athletic Club have kept the ball well the last 10 minutes and have kept Real Madrid at bay but haven’t been able to create a promising chance for themselves as of yet.
27′- Casemiro finds himself in space in an unlikely position on the right flank and drills a shot towards goal but it is dealt with comfortable by Simon in goal.
32′- Rodrygo has been giving Mikel Balenziaga nightmares already and delightfully slots it through his legs before dinking a ball back post, its cleared towards Toni Kroos who takes a blow to the face.
38′- GOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!- The deadlock has been broken and again it comes from the right side of Rodrygo as he cuts inside and lays it back to Luka Madrid for the 36-year-old to curl it into the top right corner, leaving Simon no chance. 1-0 to the Madristas!
Embed from Getty Images43′- Despite a few lazy passes from Real Madrid, they’re keeping the ball superbly, clearly trying to get to the half way mark without risking their lead.
45′- Oihan Sancet stumbles his way through a herd of Real Madrid players and gets a curling effort off, searching for the top right corner but Thibaut Courtois watches it sail past the post.
HALF TIME: Real Madrid 1-0 Athletic Club
After a first 45′ with limited chances, Real Madrid’s quality shone through and the class of Modric, despite his age, showed why he is considered one of the best midfielders in the world still. His first goal of the season came at the perfect time for Los Blancos and he was assisted by the Brazilian winger, Rodrygo. Despite Vinicius Jr stealing all the headlines this year, Rodrygo has proven his value today and has had the beating of Balenziaga every time he tries and I’m sure Ancelotti will continue to try and exploit this.
Athletic Club haven’t really gotten themselves into the game apart from some energetic spark from the club veteran Muniain, they have been pretty lacklustre and Marcelino Garcia Toral will be looking to his bench in order to change the outlook of this game. They were 2-1 down this time last year to Barcelona and had an incredible comeback late on, so the team and the fans know there is still a chance for them here if they can fashion some opportunities for the front men.
SECOND HALF KICK OFF:
46′- SUBSTITUTION- The semi-final match winner, Nico Williams comes on to replace Alex Berenguer.
50′- A long ball from Kroos into Lucas Vazquez allows the Spanish wing-back to set the ball back to Benzema, who scuffs his shot and hits Yeray Alvarez.
51′- PENALTY!!!- After a VAR check, Benzema’s shot is deemed to have hit the arm of Yeray in an unnatural position and Cesar Soto Grado felt he had to upgrade the corner to a penalty.
52′- GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!- Benzema slots away his 23rd goal of the season, he smashes it to the left of Simon and despite going the right way, the sheer power saw the ball blaze past him. 2-0 to Real Madrid.
Embed from Getty Images58′- SUBSTITUTIONS- Triple substitution for Athletic as Sancet, Oier Zarraga and Balenziaga are replaced by Yuri Berchiche, Raul Garcia and Mikel Vesga.
64′- First chance for the substitution Garcia after a great ball in by Muniain but his header flies past the post.
64′- SUBSTITUTION- Real Madrid’s semi-final hero, Federico Valverde comes on to replace Rodrygo.
70′- Muniain has been the centre of everything positive today for the men from Bilbao but a fine piece of defending from Ferland Mendy stopped his ball out wide to N. Williams working and having a clear run at Eder Militao.
75′- Garcia’s close range block looked destine to bulge the net but Militao’s right boot blocked it.
Embed from Getty Images77′- Yellow card- Garcia gets the first yellow for a challenge from behind on Vinicius Jr.
81′- SUBSTITUTION- The last change for Athletic club is 18-year-old Nico Serrano replacing Muniain.
82′- Serrano straight into action with a long strike but it is comfortably caught by Courtois.
84′- N. Williams cross falls kindly for Serrano who strikes straight at Courtois who dives on top of it.
85′- SUBSTITUTION- Marcelo replaces Vinicius Jr .
87′- RED CARD!- Garcia’s close range header is flying towards goal but strikes against Militao’s forearm and after a VAR check, the penalty is given to Athletic Club.
89′- PENALTY MISSED!!!- Any hopes of a comeback have been shattered as Garcia’s penalty is kept out by the trailing leg of the Belgian in goal.
Embed from Getty Images91′- SUBSTITUTION- Nacho Fernandez replaces Vazquez and the fourth official indicates 4 additional minutes to be played.
FULL TIME! Real Madrid win the Supercopa de España!!!!!!!!!!
Los Blancos pick up the first trophy of the season thanks to goals from Modric and Benzema, and Ancelotti starts his returning season in the perfect manner and will look to lift more trophies come the end of the season. Athletic Club won’t be happy with their performance as they struggled to create any real chances, but the quality they were facing was always going to be a big challenge for the Bilbao side.
Embed from Getty ImagesThat’s all from me for the Supercopa final, have a good evening and I’ll see you next time.
