Supercopa Clasico: Real Madrid, Barcelona meet again

January 11, 2025 ndowd

Jan 11, 2025, 09:15 AM ET

Real Madrid eased past Mallorca and Barcelona comfortably beat Athletic Club to set up a Clásico showdown in the Spanish Supercopa final in Saudi Arabia on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, stream LIVE on ESPN+, U.S. only).

It’s the third season in a row Madrid and Barça have met at this stage, with the previous winners going on to secure the LaLiga title — Barça in 2023 and Madrid last year. Xavi Hernández, Barça’s coach at the time two years ago, even spoke about the confidence which came from beating Madrid in the Supercopa.

Both teams have experienced up and down seasons, but they go into Sunday’s game in Jeddah in relatively good shape with all their stars available in attack. For Madrid, there are signs Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham are coming good. For Barça, Lamine Yamal is back from injury to partner Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski. Dani Olmo is also available again after the registration fiasco which saw him miss the semifinal. –– Sam Marsden

Clásico all-time head-to-head

All competitions
Madrid 105, Barcelona 101, Draws 52

Finals
Madrid 5, Barcelona 4

— ESPN Stats & Information

What happened in the last Clásico?

October’s 4-0 humbling of Real Madrid at the Bernabéu was the peak of Barcelona’s early season form. It was a triumph for Hansi Flick’s high-risk high line and a shock to Madrid’s system, sparking a mini-crisis for Los Blancos. But it was also a game won — despite the scoreline — on razor-thin margins. If Madrid, and especially Kylian Mbappé, had been a bit more clinical, and exploited Barça’s defence with more precision, the result might have been very different.

Madrid had multiple chances to score, denied by either poor finishing or the offside flag, before Robert Lewandowski hit the target in the 54th minute. Two minutes later, Lewandowski grabbed a second goal, and it was effectively game over. By the time Lamine Yamal and Raphinha had chipped in late on, the scoreline suggested a rout, but that wasn’t reflective of the balance of play over 90 minutes.

All that suggests that there’s no guarantee of a repeat. And we’ve seen in recent years that big Clásico wins aren’t necessarily predictive of the next meeting, or the season as a whole. As precedents go, Madrid would prefer to look to the last Supercopa, in January 2024, when Vinícius Júnior’s hat trick inspired a comprehensive 4-1 Madrid victory. — Alex Kirkland

How Real Madrid’s and Barcelona’s seasons have gone so far

Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti’s side already have two trophies in the bag for 2024-25: the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. They’re looking to add a third in Jeddah, and that’s with a team that is yet to truly find its rhythm.

Madrid started the season slowly — draws at Mallorca and Las Palmas in August showed a concerning lack of cohesion — and there’s been some high-profile defeats along the way, notably to Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool in the Champions League, and that home thrashing from Barça. There’s been criticism of Mbappé, and injuries, especially to Dani Carvajal, have weakened the team.

But overall, the trend is one of gradual improvement. Jude Bellingham has been the star — his all-round game is now arguably even better than last season’s heroics — with Vinícius Júnior not far behind. Mbappé’s rate of goal scoring has improved, even if he hasn’t hit top form yet. The weak link is the defence, and especially the full-backs, with Lucas Vázquez struggling to replace Carvajal’s defensive output. — Kirkland

Barcelona: Barcelona’s season can be broken down into two parts: before November and after November. Before November, they won 12 of 14 games, scoring four or more goals in seven of those matches, including in wins against Madrid and Bayern Munich. Since November, they have won seven out of 13 games and lost five, including shock home defeats against Las Palmas and Leganés.

Various reasons have been offered for their dip. Raphinha suggested there was some fatigue, Lewandowski has talked about the team’s mentality in the “smaller” games and there was a period when they were without Yamal. Opposition players and coaches have also spoken about how they successfully targeted Barça’s high defensive line, which yielded such devastating results for them earlier in the season.

Beating Madrid, after back-to-back wins at the start of 2025 against Barbastro and Athletic Club, will fuel the sensation they have turned the corner from what Flick dubbed a “s— November.” — Marsden

Key clashes

Mbappé vs. the Barcelona defence: Mbappé was caught offside a career-high eight times — six of them in the first half — when the two teams met in October. And when he wasn’t offside, his finishing was wayward. But that slump came in the midst of a dry spell of seven games with just one goal.

Since then, Mbappé has been scoring more regularly, finding the net in four consecutive games in December. He also netted in both of Madrid’s finals so far in 2024-25, against Pachuca and Atalanta. A big performance against Barça on Sunday would be the highlight of his season so far, and the defining “I’m him” moment everybody has been waiting for. — Kirkland

Yamal vs. Mendy. Yamal showed no sign of ill-effects from an ankle injury as he returned by scoring the second goal in the semifinal win against Athletic on Wednesday. Ferland Mendy knows all about the threat the 17-year-old poses having been dizzied by him at the Bernabéu in October. The battle between the two could decide this game.

Yamal’s numbers may not be as impressive as Raphinha’s and Lewandowski’s — although he’s still scored seven goals and provided 12 assists this season — but Barça are always better when he’s on the pitch. He has started 20 games this season and Barça have won 17 of them. He demands attention on the right and, if he doesn’t score or assist, it creates more space for others. — Marsden

Clásico predictions

Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona. There will be goals. At both ends. Even against Mallorca in the semifinal, Madrid looked vulnerable at times, and Barcelona’s defence isn’t as strong as it was. It’ll come down to which team is more clinical. Bellingham should star, again, and Vini Jr. will have a point to prove, after looking unhappy at being substituted towards the end of the Mallorca game. It’ll be fun. — Kirkland

Real Madrid X-X Barcelona. It’s hard to disagree with Alex that there will be goals. The first one will be especially key. If Barça get it, it will force Madrid to be more open than they ordinarily might be. If Madrid get it, Barça have a habit of chasing games earlier than they need to. Therefore, I think this will mirror the last two finals between the teams, with whoever scores first eventually winning comfortably. I’m just not sure who. Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona. — Marsden