Valverde stunner sends Real Madrid past Atletico into spanish super cup final

Real Madrid booked their place in the Spanish Super Cup final after edging out city rivals Atletico Madrid in a hard-fought semi-final clash in Jeddah, Sport360NG reports.

The holders made a dream start when captain Federico Valverde struck a sensational free-kick just 77 seconds into the contest, curling a 30-yard effort beyond Jan Oblak and into the top corner to stun Atletico early on.

Real doubled their advantage 10 minutes after the restart through Rodrygo, who showed composure and quality to control Valverde’s incisive pass before slipping a neat finish past Oblak.

Atletico responded through Alexander Sorloth, the Norwegian rising highest at the back post to head home and give Diego Simeone’s side renewed hope with over half an hour remaining. However, despite registering 22 attempts on goal, that proved to be their only successful effort.

Sorloth squandered a golden opportunity late in the first half when he headed wide from Conor Gallagher’s pinpoint cross, while Julian Alvarez dragged a late effort off target in stoppage time as Atletico pushed desperately for an equaliser.

Real, missing the injured Kylian Mbappe, were forced to dig deep in the closing stages. Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, who remains without a goal in 16 appearances, both had chances to extend the lead, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side ultimately saw the game out.

Victory sets up a mouth-watering final against Barcelona, marking the second Clasico of the season after Real’s 2-1 league win at the Bernabeu in October. Barcelona reached Sunday’s final by sweeping aside Athletic Club 5-0 in the other semi-final.

The Spanish Super Cup continues to be staged in Saudi Arabia after the Spanish Football Federation extended its agreement to host the tournament in Jeddah until 2029.