Muthanna Al-Ahmad / Anatolia
Barcelona qualified for the Spanish Super Cup final, Thursday, by defeating its counterpart Real Betis on penalties (4-2), following the match between them ended in a draw with two goals for the same, at the “King Fahd International” stadium in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The two teams presented an average first half, during which Barcelona dominated the ball with passive possession most of the time, as the Catalan team faced organized defense from Betis and found it difficult to reach its goal.
The result remained white until the 40th minute, when Barcelona scored the goal of progress, following a counterattack launched by Frenchman Osman Dembele, then penetrated and passed to his Polish colleague Robert Lewandowski, who dodged and shot to the right of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
With the start of the second half, Uruguayan Manuel Pellegrini made several changes in the team’s playing style to become more active on the offensive level, which quickly resulted in a very dangerous opportunity that was nullified by Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen.
The continuous pressure of Real Betis resulted in a goal by which striker Nabil Fekir equalized following a series of passes that the Frenchman of Algerian origin finished with a creeping shot that settled on the left side of the Catalan goal.
The enthusiasm increased following that, and Lewandowski was able to score Bravo with a goal that was canceled by the referee with the help of the “mouse” technique, due to the presence of an offside situation. Betis responded with more than one attempt that Stegen was present, so that the original time of the match ended with a tie.
The excitement culminated in the first extra half, when Ansu Fati gave Barcelona the lead once more with a second, very impressive goal, which he scored in the 93rd minute, taking advantage of a ball that bounced off the opponent’s defense to hit the bird in the hard side on Bravo.
And only 7 minutes passed until Betis returned and scored the equalizer once more following a distinguished individual work from Luiz Henrique, who penetrated the left of the Catalan defense and passed to substitute Luiz Morin to put it into the net with a smart touch.
Although both teams searched for scoring in the second extra half, the result still indicated a tie, so that the penalty kicks that gave Barcelona the pass to the final were adjudicated, thanks to Stegen’s brilliance in blocking two kicks to Betis and the Catalans scoring 4 kicks.
Barcelona will face in the final, next Sunday, its eternal rivals and opponents, Real Madrid, who qualified by beating Valencia on penalties also (4-3) following a draw in official and extra time with a goal for the same.
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