Who can take the momentum?
This match offers up the possibility of a pre-season trophy, which should be incentive enough for Madrid’s players. But in the grand scheme of things, winning the Spanish Super Cup is mostly just considered frosting on the cake, a bonus for having a good pre-season.
However, much more is at stake in the outcome of this match than a pre-season trophy. As The Real Champs’ Hasan Karim argued recently, the Spanish Super Cup is a big chance for Real Madrid to build momentum for their upcoming title defense.
Barcelona is already reeling. They were rocked by PSG’s raid for Neymar. Fans are upset that the best Barca has done thus far to replace him is purchase ex-Tottenham player Paulinho from Chinese club Guangzhou. And the devastation unleashed by Madrid in the first leg Super Cup El Clásico means the hits have just kept coming for Barca.
If Madrid can stay in control for the second leg, they will deal a major blow to Barca’s confidence. The pressure will be on Barcelona to right the ship before things get too carried away.
However, if Barcelona can snatch the Super Cup title away from Madrid, it could provide the players and fans a much needed boost of confidence.