FEDERICO Valverde scored a stunning early free-kick as Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid to set up a Clasico meeting with Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.
Rodrygo doubled Real’s lead in the 55th minute before Alexander Sorloth pulled a goal back for Atletico, but it was the 13-time Super Cup winners who prevailed to reach Sunday’s final (19:00 GMT).
Thursday’s semi-final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was only 77 seconds old when Los Blancos captain Valverde sent a 30-yard free-kick fizzing past Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak into the top corner.
Rodrygo doubled Real’s lead 10 minutes into the second half with a cute finish past Oblak, though his excellent first touch to control a Valverde pass before accelerating away from defender Robin Le Normand was the highlight.
Sorloth rose above Raul Asencio at the back post to head home and halve the deficit with more than half an hour still to play, but that was the only one of Atletico’s 22 attempts to be converted.
The Norwegian striker somehow headed wide late in the first half when Conor Gallagher found him with an inch-perfect delivery, before Julian Alvarez – goalless in his last eight La Liga outings – snatched a shot wide deep into second-half injury-time.
Xabi Alonso’s side – without the injured Kylian Mbappe – had to sweat for the win.
Rodrygo and Vincius Junior – the latter without a goal in 16 games – had opportunities to score in both halves, but Los Blancos were holding on by the end.
Their reward for doing so is the chance to win the second Clasico of the season, after they defeated Barcelona 2-1 at the Bernabeu in October.
Hansi Flick’s side reached the final by thrashing Athletic Club 5-0 in the first semi-final on Wednesday.
The Spanish Super Cup is taking place in Jeddah after Saudi Arabia and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) extended a deal to play the tournament in the country until 2029.
