Madrid, Jan 13: Real Madrid came out looking for some payback in the latest “clasico” against Barcelona but ended up being embarrassed again.
Madrid lost 5-2 to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday. That followed a 4-0 loss at home to Barcelona in the Spanish league in October.
Kylian Mbappé put Madrid ahead early in his second clasico, but Barcelona then ran away with goals by Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha – who scored twice – and Alejandro Balde.
Rodrygo scored for Madrid on the hour mark after Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off early in the second half.
It was the third straight win for Barcelona in 2025 after it lost two games in a row to end last year.
“The Christmas break helped us reflect on what we had done wrong,” Lewandowski said. “Now we can look forward to the run of games that we have until the end of the season.”
Madrid lost for the first time after a run of five consecutive victories.
“It was a bad night,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “It’s a disappointment, we won’t hide it, but it’s football … you have to try to learn from the losses. We have to look forward to what’s ahead.”
Mbappé had been contained when the rivals met in October but scored a superb goal five minutes into the match at King Abdullah Sports City stadium after picking up the ball just inside Madrid’s half, running at the defence and then finding the net with a clever finish. But Yamal evened the match with a nice run in the 22nd and Lewandowski, who scored twice in the earlier clasico, put the Catalans ahead in the 36th.
Raphinha added goals in the 39th and 48th minutes, while Balde scored in first-half stoppage time.
Rodrygo scored from a free kick in the 60th after Szczesny was sent off for a foul outside the area to stop a breakaway.
Lewandowski has 26 goals in 27 appearance across all competitions for Barcelona, while Raphinha has scored 19 times and Yamal eight.
Barcelona was able to count on Spain midfielder Dani Olmo after the Spanish government stepped in to provisionally allow the club to register him with the league.
The final came after Mallorca fans said they were harassed by local men who support Madrid after Thursday’s semifinal. Two wives of Mallorca players said they were groped.
The Spanish Super Cup has become a moneymaker for the federation and competing clubs since the federation struck a deal in 2019 to hold it in Saudi Arabia.
Atletico’s record
Atletico Madrid set a club all-time record of 14 straight victories with a 1-0 win over Osasuna on Sunday and went top of the Spanish league at the halfway stage.
Julián Álvarez scored in the 55th minute at the Metropolitano stadium to give Atletico the milestone victory and a one-point lead over second-place Madrid. Diego Simeone’s team has a six-point gap to third-place Barcelona.
Atletico has won all of its matches across all competitions since October. Its last setback was a 1-0 loss at Real Betis in the Spanish league on Oct. 27. Eight of the victories have come in the league.
“It’s an important streak to show the growth of this club,” Simeone said. “We have been working really hard.”
It was the seventh consecutive league game without a win for Osasuna, which is in 11th place.
Also Sunday, 15th-place Getafe won 2-1 at 14th-place Las Palmas. (AP)
