Barcelona retained thier Spanish Super Cup title Sunday with a thrilling 3-2 victory over rivals Real Madrid in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The match, played before a crowd of 60,326 at King Abdullah Sports City, saw a back-and-forth battle with multiple lead changes and a late red card for Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong [1]. This win marks Barcelona’s 16th super Cup title,extending their lead as the competition’s most successful club.
Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3-2 in a thrilling El Clásico encounter held at King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia on January 12, 2026, to defend their Spanish Super Cup title. The victory marks Barcelona’s 16th Super Cup triumph, surpassing all other teams in the competition’s history.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick started young winger Lamine Yamal alongside Robert Lewandowski in attack, while Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti opted to begin with Kylian Mbappé on the bench after a recent injury.
Raphinha opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 36th minute, firing a left-footed shot past Thibaut Courtois to give his side a 1-0 lead.
Madrid responded quickly in added time of the first half, with Gonçalo Garcia setting up Vinícius Júnior for a stunning equalizer in the 45+2nd minute. Vinícius cut inside from the left and unleashed an unstoppable shot.
Barcelona regained the lead just moments later, in the 45+4th minute, as Lewandowski found himself one-on-one with Courtois and calmly slotted the ball home to make it 2-1.
However, the drama wasn’t over before halftime. Gonçalo Garcia struck again in the 45+6th minute, his initial shot deflected before he followed up with a powerful strike that hit the underside of the bar and crossed the line, leveling the score at 2-2.
The second half saw Madrid threaten in the 62nd minute, with Vinícius linking up with Rodrygo, whose attempt was well-saved by Joan Garcia.
Barcelona took the lead once more in the 73rd minute. A pass from Dani Olmo was initially miscontrolled by Ferran Torres, but fell kindly to Raphinha, who fired a right-footed shot that deflected off Chuameni and into the net, making it 3-2.
Ancelotti brought on Mbappé in the 78th minute, hoping to spark a late comeback for Real Madrid.
Late in the match, Barcelona were reduced to 10 men after captain Frenkie de Jong received a straight red card for a dangerous tackle on Mbappé.
Barcelona held on to win 3-2, successfully defending their Spanish Super Cup title. A total of 60,326 spectators witnessed the captivating contest.
