Real Madrid edge Atletico to set up Clasico Spanish 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 blistering 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 in the shape of positive results, even if some performances have not been entirely convincing.

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 breaking his duck in 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.

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 after a run where he failed to score for 32 games straight.

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.

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.

The Atletico coach goaded Madrid winger Vinicius Junior when he was substituted, with the Brazilian failing to score for a 16th consecutive game.

Real 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.