What a game. Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 3-2 in extra-time in the Supercopa semi-final in a game that honestly could’ve gone either way. I did not expect Barcelona to play as well as they did, and they managed to put Real Madrid to the test but they couldn’t break down Real’s defensive line in the final 12 minutes or so.
Goals from Vinicius Jr, Karim Benzema and then a thrilling winner from Fede Valverde in the second half of extra-time made sure that Real Madrid advance to the final of the Supercopa de Espana.
Here are the player ratings from the victory.
GK Thibaut Courtois
To be honest, even though Barcelona created a bunch of chances, they really didn’t test Courtois until very late in the game. He had a couple of saves in the first half, but then a few more in the second and in extra-time, and all that made me appreciate his greatness even more than I already do. Overall, he did struggle to deal with the press from Barcelona sometimes, which led to a few misplaced passes, but honestly, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Courtois is sensational, and I wouldn’t trade him for any other goalkeeper in the world.
Rating: 8.0
RB Dani Carvajal
Dani Carvajal returned from injury and gave in a good performance defensively. He tried his best to deal with Ousmane Dembele on the right, and even though the Frenchman got past him sometimes, he was able to hold his own. He had a few crucial interventions, and also had the cross which led to Karim Benzema’s goal. Carvajal was subbed off before the start of extra-time.
Rating: 7.0
CB Eder Militao
Eder Militao had a few sloppy passes, had a couple of weird shots, and also had a very weird clearance attempt in the build-up to Barcelona’s first goal which led to Luuk De Jong finding the net very easily. After that, though, he had a solid performance. His defensive presence was felt, he had a bunch of very good tackles and kept most of the attackers from posing danger to Thibaut Courtois, especially in extra-time. Good game, but not his best, by any means. His rating would’ve been less if not for those amazing 30 minutes.
Rating: 6.5
CB Nacho Fernandez
I was really surprised to see Nacho’s inclusion, but as we know now, it was solely because of David Alaba’s muscular problem. Nacho had a decent game. I was very worried before the game, but I think he played well. He had a couple of his gambles which left spaces in the defensive line, but thankfully nothing dangerous happened in those sequences. But, they did show that Nacho can’t really be relied upon if either Militao or Alaba get injured. So there’s that.
Apart from that, he had a game-saving tackle on Pedri in the second half. He passed the ball well, and yeah, just a good game. Nothing special, but it didn’t have to be. Alaba’s press resistance and passing range were sorely missed though, but that’s not taking any points off of Nacho.
Rating: 6.0
LB Ferland Mendy
If I had to sum up Mendy’s performance in one word, I’d say it was bold. I could’ve also used nervy, given his history of not being comfortable with the ball, and sometimes he wasn’t, but the rest was just really, really surprising. Mendy was balling. Mendy channelled his inner Zidane and got past two players and ran through the press like it was a piece of cake. He took his time in letting go of the ball, sometimes too long, and it generally worked.
Of course, it had my heart racing, but all’s well that ends well, right? He was also solid defensively, he made sure Ferran Torres’ debut start for Barcelona was one to forget, and was also heavily involved in the build-up to Benzema’s goal.
Rating: 7.5
DM Casemiro
Look at this picture above, man. This run was simply phenomenal. Never in my life did I think that Casemiro would make such darting runs from one box to the other on so many occasions perfectly, and yet he did, including one – probably the best one – in the build-up to the final goal. He touched the ball many times but even though he’s prone to making silly passes and touches, he generally did really well.
His presence on the defensive end was incredibly important, and it just showed that this man knows what to do in big games. Easily, easily his best performance of the season. It’s not close. I think he was the most important player on the pitch for Real, and it goes to show that Casemiro truly is made for the big stage.
Rating: 9.5
CM Luka Modric
Modric had another very good game. He was really important in so many chances that Real Madrid created, and was generally helpful in escaping Barcelona’s high press. Although he did have a bunch of giveaways early on in the first half, he improved as the game went on. Very good performance, not flawless, but very good indeed.
He was subbed off for Fede Valverde, who had a really good, impactful cameo – defending really well, trying to get the ball to open players, oh and scoring the winner and celebrating by showing everyone what his name is – just the usual for Valverde. Huge confidence booster for him as well.
Rating: 7.5
CM Toni Kroos
I won’t lie to you, right after the game ended I didn’t think Kroos had a really good performance. I thought he wasn’t seeing the ball as much as he usually does, but I have been proven wrong by Mr Tom Wade’s tweet right here. This man completed 75 out of his 77 passes, against a good Barcelona team that didn’t shy away from pressing the hell out of Real Madrid players. If that doesn’t tell you about his ability as a passer, I don’t know what will.
He was also very important on the defensive end – perhaps a reason why he wasn’t seen as much on the offense – with three tackles, one interception, four out of nine duels won. Another good game from Kroos, and I didn’t even notice. Wow.
Rating: 8.0
RW Marco Asensio
Nothing noteworthy from Asensio in this game. He had a few shots, he made a few inward runs but apart from that, I really didn’t see much from him. I think his substitution was required, and it paid off. Rodrygo had a fantastic game, but Asensio didn’t do much during his time on the pitch. He didn’t provide much on either end of the pitch. His biggest problem still remains.
Rating: 5.5
CF Karim Benzema
Another game, another goal and assist for Karim Benzema. The man doesn’t stop scoring. He performed really well. He created chances for others, created shots for himself. He assisted Real Madrid’s first goal of the night, and scored the second, while also hitting the post once. Benzema was the target of so many passes from very deep, and him dropping deep really helped with the press resistance and chance-creating. Benzema did look a little tired towards the end of the game, but that’s understandable.
He’s up to 23 goals and eight assists for the season, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Rating: 9.0
LW Vinicius Junior
I was most excited to see Vinicius Junior go up against that Barcelona defense, and I think it went well. To be honest, Ronald Araujo did a decent job at limiting Vini’s productivity. But, he can only do so much. Vinicius scored the first goal of the game – a great finish – all while being marked by the player who was supposed to stop Vinicius Junior – Araujo.
Vini was impressive all-around, and definitely created many chances through his pace and ability to create space for himself. He also had a pretty impactful dummy in the build-up to the third goal that made space for Valverde to shoot.
Vini’s probably the best left-winger in the world right now, and his confidence must be sky-high especially after a great performance vs Valencia as well. Great game, and his performance might’ve shown us the biggest trait that one could possibly possess. We’ll get to that in due time, though.
Rating: 8.5