Barcelona Stuns Real Madrid with Historic 5-2 Comeback to Win Spanish Super Cup

FC Barcelona delivered a stunning performance on Sunday, staging a historic comeback to dominate arch-rival Real Madrid 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Culers’ nerves were tested early when Vinícius Jr. capitalized on Marc Casado's mistake, launching a blistering counterattack that ended with Kylian Mbappé beating Alejandro Balde and giving defending champions Real Madrid the lead within five minutes.

Barcelona's response came in the 22nd minute when teenage sensation Lamine Yamal dazzled with a slaloming run, firing a perfectly placed shot past Thibaut Courtois to equalize.

Fifteen minutes later, Robert Lewandowski converted from the penalty spot after Eduardo Camavinga brought Gavi down in the box. Shortly after, Raphinha connected with a Jules Koundé cross to extend Barça’s lead, and the Brazilian then assisted Alejandro Balde to make it 4-1 by halftime.

The second half saw Barça maintain their dominance, with Raphinha dribbling past Madrid defenders to score his second goal of the night, pushing the score to 5-1.

Barcelona Stuns Real Madrid with Historic 5-2 Comeback to Win Spanish Super Cup

Real Madrid managed to pull one back when Rodrygo converted a free kick awarded after Wojciech Szczęsny was shown a red card for fouling Mbappé outside the penalty area. However, it wasn’t enough to derail Barcelona, who held firm to secure their record 15th Spanish Super Cup title.

For new head coach Hansi Flick, who took charge last summer, this victory marks his first trophy with Barcelona. The win also saw the Blaugrana reclaim the Super Cup, which Madrid had taken from them a year ago under Flick’s predecessor, Xavi Hernández.

Earlier in the season, Barcelona routed Madrid 4-0 in a La Liga Clásico in October, moving six points clear at the top of the table. However, inconsistent results in November and December have left Barça trailing Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid by five points and league leaders Atlético Madrid by six. All teams have now played 19 games.

Barcelona will return to La Liga action on January 18 with an away match against Getafe as the newly crowned Super Cup champions look to build on this momentum for the rest of the season.