XABI ALONSO’S Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in a tight Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to set up a Clasico final clash against rivals Barcelona.
Fede Valverde’s free-kick and a Rodrygo Goes strike helped Madrid claim a fifth consecutive victory across all competitions, with Alexander Sorloth pulling one back for Diego Simeone’s Atletico, who came up short in Jeddah.
Alonso was close to the sack after a run of inconsistent form towards the end of 2025, but his team have slowly found their footing.
The Spanish coach led Madrid to a win over Barcelona in his first Clasico at the helm in October, before his team began to slump.
With French superstar Kylian Mbappe out as he recovers from a knee sprain, Alonso kept young striker Gonzalo Garcia in the centre of the attack after his hat-trick against Real Betis on Sunday.
Atletico beat their city rivals 5-2 when the teams met in September in a La Liga derby, but this was a far closer affair.
Los Blancos took the lead after just two minutes when Valverde’s ferocious free-kick flew past Sorloth in a poorly-positioned wall and rocketed past Jan Oblak.
The Norwegian Atletico forward might have done more to block it, and Oblak got his hand to the shot but could not keep it out because of the sheer power.
Valverde celebrated vehemently, slapping his own head, clearly delighted at netting his first goal of a difficult season to date.
By taking the lead, Real Madrid earned the right to sit deeper and force Atletico to try and attack them to pull back level.
Madrid hit the Rojiblancos when they could on the counter, with Oblak saving well from Rodrygo after he floated inside from the right.
Atletico began to create some chances and could have pulled level before the interval.
Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tipped away Sorloth’s header, and then the target man clumsily nodded Conor Gallagher’s cross off-target from close range.
Julian Alvarez, who has just two goals in his last 11 matches, fired towards goal but was also thwarted by Courtois.
Rodrygo extended Madrid’s lead in the 55th minute with his third goal in five games, continuing a rich vein of form across the past few weeks.
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The Brazilian found a gap to burst through in the middle of Atletico’s defence and kept his cool to sweep the ball past Oblak.
- Sorloth strikes at last -
Three minutes later, Atletico hit back, with Sorloth finally finding the net with a header from Giuliano Simeone’s cross.
The striker gave defender Raul Asencio just enough of a shove to put him off without being penalised for it before nodding in.
Atletico came close in the final stages as they tried in vain to force extra-time, with Courtois saving an acrobatic Antoine Griezmann effort, and Marcos Llorente whipping a shot agonisingly wide.
Alvarez flashed a shot across the face of the goal deep in stoppage time as Atletico’s hopes of silverware in Saudi Arabia came to a quick end.
Madrid face Barcelona on Sunday in the final at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium after the Catalans thrashed Athletic Bilbao 5-0 on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain beat Marseille on penalties to win a topsy-turvy French Champions Trophy in Kuwait on Thursday.
PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier was the hero of the night, saving two spot-kicks as PSG took the penalty lottery 4-1 after a frenetic end to the match left the two sides locked at 2-2.
Desire Doue converted the decisive spot-kick after Chevalier had saved efforts from Marseille’s Matt O’Riley and Hamed Traore.
PSG had taken an early lead when their Ballon d’Or-winning attacker Ousmane Dembele deftly lifted the ball over Marseille’s keeper Geronimo Rulli.
Only Rulli’s quick thinking prevented Nuno Mendes from doubling PSG’s advantage minutes later.
Rulli’s opposite number Chevalier, displayed his own goalkeeping prowess when denying Marseille defender Emerson’s goal-bound shot after the half hour.
PSG had Chevalier to thank again when the stopper somehow kept out Igor Paixao’s header near the hour mark.
But with a quarter of an hour remaining, an ugly challenge by Chevalier triggered a Marseille penalty and, after confirmation from VAR, former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood coolly converted the spot-kick.
With the match only three minutes away from penalties, centre-back Willian Pacho’s ill-advised clearance flummoxed his ‘keeper as Marseille suddenly seemed set to seal their first silverware since their 2012 French League Cup title.
- ‘So determined’ -
But in the fifth minute of injury time, Goncalo Ramos poked Bradley Barcola’s cross in to level and send the game to penalties, and ultimately victory for Luis Enrique’s PSG.
“When you go 2–1 down in the 85th minute, you wonder if something’s not right, but I knew that if it went to penalties, we were going to win because I was so determined today to make the team win,” Chevalier told broadcaster Ligue1+.
“I’m happy for myself and for PSG,” added the 24-year-old former Lille stopper.
This was PSG’s record-extending 14th win in the equivalent of France’s ‘Super Cup’ in a game virtually shunned by both sides’ fans due to travel costs.
A banner unfurled at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome last Sunday during their 2-0 upset loss to lowly Nantes in Ligue 1 summed up the general mood of dissatisfaction from supporters hanging over the encounter.
It read: “FCT 2026 in Kuwait. And for 2027, on the moon?”
The fixture traditionally between the Ligue 1 champions and French Cup winners has led a nomadic existence over the years as the French Football Federation seeks to promote Ligue 1 beyond its borders.
Previous editions have been staged in Canada, China, Gabon, Israel, Qatar, USA, Morocco and Austria, amongst other venues.
After this awayday in the Middle East, the two teams refocus on domestic matters next week, with French Cup outings before PSG, one point behind Lens in second, host Lille next Friday, and Marseille, seven points adrift of PSG in third, travel to Angers.
And in Europe, PSG will also be keen to wrap up automatic qualification to the Champions League last 16.
The holders are third in the league phase standings with two games remaining, while Marseille are 16th and in contention for a play-off spot.
With PSG winning both the league and French Cup last season, Marseille owed their presence in Kuwait to being league runners-up in 2024/25, albeit a yawning 19 points behind their arch rivals.
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Real Madrid beat Atletico to set up Clasico Super Cup final
XABI ALONSO’S Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in a tight Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to set up a Clasico final clash against rivals Barcelona.
Fede Valverde’s free-kick and a Rodrygo Goes strike helped Madrid claim a fifth consecutive victory across all competitions, with Alexander Sorloth pulling one back for Diego Simeone’s Atletico, who came up short in Jeddah.
Alonso was close to the sack after a run of inconsistent form towards the end of 2025, but his team have slowly found their footing.
The Spanish coach led Madrid to a win over Barcelona in his first Clasico at the helm in October, before his team began to slump.
With French superstar Kylian Mbappe out as he recovers from a knee sprain, Alonso kept young striker Gonzalo Garcia in the centre of the attack after his hat-trick against Real Betis on Sunday.
Atletico beat their city rivals 5-2 when the teams met in September in a La Liga derby, but this was a far closer affair.
Los Blancos took the lead after just two minutes when Valverde’s ferocious free-kick flew past Sorloth in a poorly-positioned wall and rocketed past Jan Oblak.
The Norwegian Atletico forward might have done more to block it, and Oblak got his hand to the shot but could not keep it out because of the sheer power.
Valverde celebrated vehemently, slapping his own head, clearly delighted at netting his first goal of a difficult season to date.
By taking the lead, Real Madrid earned the right to sit deeper and force Atletico to try and attack them to pull back level.
Madrid hit the Rojiblancos when they could on the counter, with Oblak saving well from Rodrygo after he floated inside from the right.
Atletico began to create some chances and could have pulled level before the interval.
Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tipped away Sorloth’s header, and then the target man clumsily nodded Conor Gallagher’s cross off-target from close range.
Julian Alvarez, who has just two goals in his last 11 matches, fired towards goal but was also thwarted by Courtois.
Rodrygo extended Madrid’s lead in the 55th minute with his third goal in five games, continuing a rich vein of form across the past few weeks.
The Brazilian found a gap to burst through in the middle of Atletico’s defence and kept his cool to sweep the ball past Oblak.
- Sorloth strikes at last -
Three minutes later, Atletico hit back, with Sorloth finally finding the net with a header from Giuliano Simeone’s cross.
The striker gave defender Raul Asencio just enough of a shove to put him off without being penalised for it before nodding in.
Atletico came close in the final stages as they tried in vain to force extra-time, with Courtois saving an acrobatic Antoine Griezmann effort, and Marcos Llorente whipping a shot agonisingly wide.
Alvarez flashed a shot across the face of the goal deep in stoppage time as Atletico’s hopes of silverware in Saudi Arabia came to a quick end.
Madrid face Barcelona on Sunday in the final at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium after the Catalans thrashed Athletic Bilbao 5-0 on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain beat Marseille on penalties to win a topsy-turvy French Champions Trophy in Kuwait on Thursday.
PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier was the hero of the night, saving two spot-kicks as PSG took the penalty lottery 4-1 after a frenetic end to the match left the two sides locked at 2-2.
Desire Doue converted the decisive spot-kick after Chevalier had saved efforts from Marseille’s Matt O’Riley and Hamed Traore.
PSG had taken an early lead when their Ballon d’Or-winning attacker Ousmane Dembele deftly lifted the ball over Marseille’s keeper Geronimo Rulli.
Only Rulli’s quick thinking prevented Nuno Mendes from doubling PSG’s advantage minutes later.
Rulli’s opposite number Chevalier, displayed his own goalkeeping prowess when denying Marseille defender Emerson’s goal-bound shot after the half hour.
PSG had Chevalier to thank again when the stopper somehow kept out Igor Paixao’s header near the hour mark.
But with a quarter of an hour remaining, an ugly challenge by Chevalier triggered a Marseille penalty and, after confirmation from VAR, former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood coolly converted the spot-kick.
With the match only three minutes away from penalties, centre-back Willian Pacho’s ill-advised clearance flummoxed his ‘keeper as Marseille suddenly seemed set to seal their first silverware since their 2012 French League Cup title.
- ‘So determined’ -
But in the fifth minute of injury time, Goncalo Ramos poked Bradley Barcola’s cross in to level and send the game to penalties, and ultimately victory for Luis Enrique’s PSG.
“When you go 2–1 down in the 85th minute, you wonder if something’s not right, but I knew that if it went to penalties, we were going to win because I was so determined today to make the team win,” Chevalier told broadcaster Ligue1+.
“I’m happy for myself and for PSG,” added the 24-year-old former Lille stopper.
This was PSG’s record-extending 14th win in the equivalent of France’s ‘Super Cup’ in a game virtually shunned by both sides’ fans due to travel costs.
A banner unfurled at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome last Sunday during their 2-0 upset loss to lowly Nantes in Ligue 1 summed up the general mood of dissatisfaction from supporters hanging over the encounter.
It read: “FCT 2026 in Kuwait. And for 2027, on the moon?”
The fixture traditionally between the Ligue 1 champions and French Cup winners has led a nomadic existence over the years as the French Football Federation seeks to promote Ligue 1 beyond its borders.
Previous editions have been staged in Canada, China, Gabon, Israel, Qatar, USA, Morocco and Austria, amongst other venues.
After this awayday in the Middle East, the two teams refocus on domestic matters next week, with French Cup outings before PSG, one point behind Lens in second, host Lille next Friday, and Marseille, seven points adrift of PSG in third, travel to Angers.
And in Europe, PSG will also be keen to wrap up automatic qualification to the Champions League last 16.
The holders are third in the league phase standings with two games remaining, while Marseille are 16th and in contention for a play-off spot.
With PSG winning both the league and French Cup last season, Marseille owed their presence in Kuwait to being league runners-up in 2024/25, albeit a yawning 19 points behind their arch rivals.
– © AFP 2026
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