Real Madrid easily defeated Mallorca and Barcelona comfortably defeated Athletic Club, setting up a Clasico showdown in the Spanish Supercopa final in Saudi Arabia on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+, U.S. only) .
It will be the third consecutive season that Madrid and Barça have met at this stage, with the winner of the previous edition securing the La Liga title, with Barça in 2023 and Madrid last year. Two years ago, then-Barça manager Xavi Hernández also talked about the confidence he gained from beating Madrid in the Supercopa.
Both teams have experienced ups and downs in their seasons, but they head into Sunday’s game in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in relatively good shape with all the attacking stars available. For Madrid, Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham are all showing signs of form. At Barça, Lamine Yamal returned from injury to partner Rafinha and Robert Lewandowski. Dani Olmo is also available again after missing the semi-finals due to a registration fiasco. — Sam Marsden
Clasico total match results
all competitions
Madrid 105, Barcelona 101, draw 52
final match
Madrid 5, Barcelona 4
–ESPN Research
What happened in the last Clasico?
The 4-0 humiliation of Real Madrid at the Bernabéu in October was the peak of Barcelona’s early season form. It was a high-risk, high-line victory for coach Hansi Flick, a shock to Madrid’s system and a mini-crisis for Los Blancos. However, despite the scoreline, it was also a game that was won by a narrow margin. If Madrid, and especially Kylian Mbappé, had been a little more clinical and exploited Barça’s defense more precisely, the result could have been very different.
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Madrid had several chances to score, but were thwarted by poor finishing or offside flags, until Robert Lewandowski put a shot on target in the 54th minute. Two minutes later, Lewandowski scored his second goal and the game was effectively over. When Lamine Yamal and Raphinha came on late on, the scoreline suggested a defeat, but that did not reflect the balance of play over the 90 minutes.
All of this suggests that there is no guarantee of recurrence. And we’ve seen in recent years that a big Clasico win doesn’t necessarily predict the next matchup or the season as a whole. Following suit, Madrid will be looking forward to the last Supercopa in January 2024, when Vinicius Junior’s hat-trick helped Madrid win 4-1. — Alex Kirkland
Real Madrid and Barcelona’s season history so far
Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti’s side already have two trophies in hand for the 2024/25 season: the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. They hope to add a third goal against Jeddah, but that’s with a team that hasn’t really found its rhythm yet.
Madrid started the season slowly – draws against Mallorca and Las Palmas in August showed a worrying lack of cohesion – and there were some high-profile defeats along the way. , especially in the Champions League, where they lost to Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool. A big hit at Barça’s home. There has also been criticism of Mbappé, especially with the team weakened by injuries to Dani Carvajal.
However, overall there is a tendency for gradual improvement. Jude Bellingham is the star, and his all-round play is arguably even better than his heroics last season, with Vinicius Jr. not far behind. Although he is not yet at his best, Mbappe’s scoring rate is improving. The weakness is the defense, especially at full-back, where Lucas Vazquez has struggled to replace Carvajal’s defensive prowess. — Kirkland
Barcelona: Barcelona’s season can be divided into two parts: before November and after November. By November they had won 12 of 14 games, scoring four or more goals in seven of them, including wins against Madrid and Bayern Munich. Since November, they have won seven and lost five of 13 games, including shocking home losses to Las Palmas and Leganes.
Various reasons have been cited for this decline. Rafinha suggested there was fatigue, while Lewandowski talked about the team’s mentality in “smaller” games and said there were periods without Yamal. Opposing players and coaches also spoke about how well they targeted Barça’s high defensive line, leading to such devastating results at the beginning of the season.
After back-to-back wins against Barbastro and Athletic Club at the start of 2025, defeating Madrid would add fuel to the sensation that has turned a corner since what Flick called “November”. –Marsden
key collision
Mbappe vs. Barcelona defense: When the two teams met in October, Mbappe was caught offside a career-high eight times, six of them in the first half. And the finishing was wayward when it wasn’t offside. However, that slump came during a period of weakness where he scored just one goal in seven games.
Since then, Mbappe has been scoring more regularly, finding the back of the net in four consecutive games in December. He also scored in both Madrid’s finals of the 2024-25 season, against Pachuca and Atalanta. Sunday’s outstanding performance against Barça was the highlight of his season so far and will be the defining moment that everyone has been waiting for. — Kirkland
Yamal vs. Mendy. Yamal did not seem to be affected by the ankle injury and returned to action by scoring his second goal in Wednesday’s semi-final against Athletic. Ferland Mendy knows all too well the threat the 17-year-old poses, having been dazzled by him at the Bernabéu in October. The battle between these two may decide this match.
Yamal’s numbers may not be as impressive as Rafinha or Lewandowski – he still has seven goals and 12 assists this season – but Barca are always better when he’s on the pitch. . This season, he has started 20 games, of which Barça have won 17. He needs to attract attention on the right side and if he doesn’t score or assist, he leaves space for others. –Marsden
Clasico prediction
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Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona. There will also be goals. It’s on both ends. Even in the semi-final against Mallorca, Madrid looked vulnerable at times and Barcelona’s defense was not as strong as before. It comes down to which team is more clinical. Bellingham should start again, and Vini Junior will have a point to prove after looking unhappy at being substituted late against Mallorca. It’ll be fun. — Kirkland
Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona. It’s hard to agree with Alex that there will be goals. The first one becomes especially important. If Barca wins it, Madrid will be more open than usual. Once Madrid have it, Barça have a habit of chasing games sooner than necessary. So I think this mirrors the last two finals between the teams and the team that scores first ends up winning easily. However, I don’t know who it is. –Marsden
betting odds
Real Madrid -125, Barcelona -105 (at time of article publication)
— ESPN Bets