Los Blancos beat Barcelona in the semifinal of the Supercopa de Espana to set up a final clash against either Atletico Madrid or Athletic Club. Los Blancos needed extra time to beat their rivals, which they did narrowly, thanks to a goal by midfielder Federico Valverde.
Vinicius Jr gave Real the lead in the 28th minute, as he ran onto a pass by Karim Benzema before finishing past Marc-Andre ter Stegen with aplomb. However, a defensive error by Eder Militao presented Barcelona with the equalizing goal; Militao’s poor clearance hit Luuk De Jong and beat Thibaut Courtois in goal.
Benzema restored Real Madrid’s lead in the 72nd minute, tapping the ball into an empty net as it was palmed into his feet by Ter Stegen. Ansu Fati equalized for Barcelona again with 83 minutes played by getting the subtlest of touches on a Jordi Alba cross.
The match went into extra time, and it was in the 98th minute that Federico Valverde popped up in the Barcelona box to put his side in front – for the third time. On this occasion, Carlo Ancelotti’s men held onto their advantage and booked their place in the final.
In Milan, league champions Inter Milan played rivals, and cup winners, Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana. As tenacious as they have been in the league, Inter fell behind to a Weston McKennie header in the 25th minute.
However, it was that relentlessness that overpowered Juve and a lapse in concentration in the 35th minute by last week’s hero Mattia De Sciglio, who fouled Edin Dzeko inside the box, allowed Inter a way back into the contest. Lautaro Martinez stepped up and scored from the spot.
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The two sides contested for the winner in the second half – but canceled each other out. Into extra time the match went, and Alexis Sanchez came off the bench to score the winning goal in the 120th minute.
The Chilean poked a loose ball past Mattia Perin in the Juve goal, after a poor touch by Alex Sandro had allowed Matteo Darmian to steal the ball off him inside the box. Inter celebrated their first trophy of the season, while Juve were left to rue their defensive errors.
