Late drama in the second half was worth the right to play in the final of the Supercopa. We saw a terrific second half between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
Pre-match preparations
Barcelona came to the city Jeddah with a delay of a few hours. We saw the first match of semi-finals on Tuesday evening. Real Madrid won the game against Valencia, and whites were waiting for an opponent.
Atletico Madrid has no serious injury problem. Although Diego Costa, one of the most essential forward, was absent. He has a “Hernia” condition and can’t help the team for a few weeks. Blaugrana also had problems related to injuries. The main goalkeeper, Ter Stegen, has a knee problem and can’t help Barcelona. The medical team believes that Stegen can help Valverde’s side from February. Meanwhile, Ernesto Valverde had to find the solution for the goalkeeper.
1st half of the match
Ernesto Valverde started the game with the same line-up. Lionel Messi, Suarez, and Antoine Griezmann were in the attacking line. At the same time, Barcelona’s coach chose Neto as a starter goalkeeper.
Diego Simeone has not changed anything after the previous match of La Liga. Starting line-up was the same, but the game was worth Supercopa Final.
We have not seen anything serious in the first half. Barcelona had the chance to score goals in the first half but could not convert shots. To be more specific, Oblak was unbelievable as he made two very intense save.
2nd half of the match
Diego Simeone made a change after the first half. Koke replaced Herrera, and it was the main substitution for the coach. In just twenty seconds after the substitution, Koke scored the goal. Atletico Madrid scored the goal from a fast counter-attack.
Lionel Messi was not happy with the score and decided to change it. Argentinian player scored a goal in the 50th minute and tied the match. In just a few minutes, Lionel Messi scored the second goal, but the referee noted that it was hand-ball.
Barcelona could take the lead in five minutes. It seemed impossible to score against Barcelona as Atletico was not even attacking. Everything changed on the 80th minute when Atletico Madrid got right on penalty after a fast counter-attack.
In just three minutes, Atletico Madrid turned everything around. Angel Correa scored the goal after counter-attack and won the match for the first time against Barcelona since 2016.