One step passed, now Real Madrid is one step away from defending the Supercopa de Espana title. The victory over Valencia in the match on Wednesday, January 11 local time at the King Fahd stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia led them to the final.
Yes, Real Madrid qualified as the first finalist of the Supercopa de Espana in 2023 after winning 4-3 on penalties. This victory is quite significant considering they just lost to Villarreal in La Liga last weekend.
Relying on Karim Benzema again, Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo Goes in attack, Madrid immediately kicked off from the start of the match. Rodrygo opened the first chance in the 10th minute, but his shot still went over.
Five minutes later Fave Valverde’s effort through a long-range shot from outside the penalty box also failed to meet the target. Valverde’s shot went wide on the right side of Valencia’s goal.
Karim Benzema finally opened the scoring in the 39th minute through a penalty after the striker was brought down by Eray Comert in the forbidden box. Benzema’s shot slid smoothly to the right side of the goal. This advantage lasted until the first half ended.
Starting the second half, Valencia immediately replied. Taking advantage of Tony Lato’s cross from outside the penalty box, Samuel Lino successfully thrilled the Madrid goal with a shot from near the left corner of the goal.
Furthermore, Eray Comert had the opportunity to increase Valencia’s advantage in the 77th minute through a free kick, unfortunately his shot was wide on the right side of the goal.
Towards the end of the second half it was Madrid’s golden opportunity through Vinicius Jr. also failed to be maximized thanks to the toughness of Valencia goalkeeper, Giorgi Mamardashvili. The second half ended with a score of 1-1 so the match continued with extra round.
No goals were scored in extra time so the match had to go to a penalty shootout. In this round of high-fives, Valencia, who fielded his five kickers, was only able to maximize three kicks. Edison Cavani, Ilaix Moriba and Hugo Guillamon made successful kicks. Meanwhile, Eray Comert’s shot went over. And Jose Gaya as the last kicker, his shot was thwarted by Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
On the other hand, in the Madrid camp, the four kickers, namely Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Marco Asensio, successfully carried out their duties so that the final score was 4-3 in favor of Madrid.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti warmly welcomed this success even though he admitted that the match was not easy. “The team is not in the best condition. But we are always ready to compete on the field and compete. There are no easy matches. The important thing is to win,” Ancelotti commented as written by the Spanish media, Marca.
Meanwhile Valencia coach, Gennaro Gartuso, only briefly said that today was not a lucky day for him and his team. Real Madrid will then wait for the winner between Barcelona vs Rela Betis as their opponent in the final.
ASL
