Fans should expect the unexpected when Real Madrid face Barcelona in Sunday’s Supercopa de Espana final, said Blancos coach Carlo Ancelotti after their semi-final victory.
Madrid eased into the showpiece match with a 3-0 win over Real Mallorca on Thursday, with Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo netting either side of a Martin Valjent own goal.
One day earlier, Barcelona booked their own place in the final with a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao.
The Blaugrana trounced Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu when the Clasico rivals last met in October, though they have since stuttered in LaLiga to slip to third.
“The Clasico has been unpredictable lately,” Ancelotti told reporters on Thursday.
“There were games we won easily, like the 4-1 last year in the Supercopa. We also won 4-0 twice in Barcelona while they beat us 4-0 at the Bernabeu.
“It’s hard to think what kind of game the next one will be. It will be entertaining because there is quality on the pitch. Obviously we want to end up being better than Barcelona.”
14 – @FCBarcelona are the team with the most #SpanishSuperCup titles (14), @realmadriden are second (13), although “The Whites” are the team with the most such titles under the new format (three out of five: 2020, 2022 and 2024). Clásico#RM#FCB#Clásico pic.twitter.com/UBPSGh5YoK
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 9, 2025
Madrid needed over an hour to open the scoring against last year’s Copa del Rey finalists Mallorca, who currently sit sixth in LaLiga and are 13 points off the leaders.
England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock, finishing an excellent team move featuring Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappe.
“We started very well, but we could have opened the scoring a little earlier, in the first half,” Ancelotti said.
“After the good start it became more difficult for us. It was a demanding game because Mallorca played the game they had to play.
“They were defending very well, closing spaces, trying to look for opportunities with crosses. A couple of times they created problems for us.”
9 – Jude Bellingham is the midfielder in the Top 5 European Leagues to have scored the most goals in the last two months in all competitions (nine goals). Efficiency.#Bellingham #SpanishSuperCup pic.twitter.com/XcrpXSV1Wm
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 9, 2025
Madrid finished the game without midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who was replaced by Raul Asencio early in the second half following a nasty clash of heads.
Bellingham also looked uncomfortable after going down in the final minutes but completed the game, while Federico Valverde was substituted with 15 minutes remaining.
“The doctor preferred to take him (Tchouameni) off the pitch because it was a blow to the head,” Ancelotti said.
“Bellingham and Valvede were overloads. We were not expecting the heat and it affected the rhythm of the game.”
