Barcelona beats Betis to set up Super Cup final against Madrid
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Marc-André ter Stegen saved two penalties and Pedri transformed the deciding spot kick as Barcelona defeated Real Betis 4-2 in a shootout Thursday to arrange a Spanish Super Cup ultimate towards rival Real Madrid this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
Madrid defeated Valencia on penalties within the different semifinal on Wednesday, when Thibaut Courtois made the decisive save.
“Ter Stegen makes the difference,” Barcelona coach Xavi mentioned. “He makes the two saves and sends us to the final.”
The decisive match can be on Sunday on the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.
Barcelona transformed all 4 of its penalties within the shootout and Ter Stegen stopped the efforts by Juanmi and Willian Carvalho to offer the Catalan membership the victory.
“The match was super difficult, Betis made it tough for us,” Ter Stegen mentioned. “In the end it’s about making it to finals, and we’ve made it. You also need some luck in the shootout, and this time it was on our side.”
The groups drew 1-1 in regulation after Robert Lewandowski scored for Barcelona within the first half and Nabil Fekir equalized for Betis close to the tip. The rating was 2-2 after further time as Ansu Fati gave Barcelona an early lead and Loren Morón equalized once more for Betis.
In the shootout, Fati, Lewandowski and Franck Kessie additionally scored for Barcelona. Morón and Willian José transformed for Betis.
It would be the first time Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Madrid meet within the Super Cup ultimate because the competitors was revamped and brought to Saudi Arabia in 2020.
“It will be a beautiful match,” Ter Stegen mentioned. “Everyone here wants to see a match like this and I’m thrilled to be able to play in it and to try to win it.”
Madrid will attempt to equal Barcelona with 13 Spanish Super Cup trophies, essentially the most amongst all golf equipment. Barcelona can be attempting to win its first Super Cup trophy since 2018.
Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis was attempting to succeed in its first Super Cup ultimate since 2005, when it misplaced to Barcelona.
“We are disappointed, the team played a great match,” Pellegrini said. “We felt like we deserved to win in regulation but it wasn’t possible, and then Ter Stegen made some good saves.”
The Super Cup was performed solely between the Spanish league champion and the Copa del Rey winner, however now the runners-up in each competitions additionally take part in Final Four match that was taken to Saudi Arabia in a profitable deal for the Spanish soccer federation.
Madrid defeated Barcelona 3-1 at house within the first “clásico” of the season on the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in October.
Lewandowski scored his first purpose because the World Cup after a cross from Ousmane Dembélé within the fortieth minute. He scored in Poland’s 3-1 loss to France in December within the spherical of 16 in Qatar, however hadn’t discovered the online for Barcelona since a 1-0 win at Valencia within the Spanish league in October.
Betis equalized within the 77th when Fekir despatched a low shot previous Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen.
Lewandowski thought he had scored his second — and a potential winner late in regulation — however the purpose was disallowed for offside within the buildup.
Fati scored early in further time with a volley from simply inside the realm, and Morón evened the match about 10 minutes later with a backheel contact from shut vary.
Betis performed the ultimate minutes of additional time with 10 males as Andrés Guardado was despatched off with a second yellow card for a tough foul.
