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Barcelona advance to Supercopa de España final

Barcelona advanced to the Spanish Super Cup final, awaiting Real Madrid, after defeating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in the semi-final at King Abdullah Sports City on the evening of January 8th.

*Goals: Gavi 17', Yamal 52'

Prior to the semi-final, Barcelona received news that the court had granted temporary playing permission to Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, two players whose registration had been pending due to budget constraints, until their appeals were resolved. However, the verdict arrived just before kickoff, leaving manager Hansi Flick unable to include them in the matchday squad against Bilbao.

Gavi took Olmo's place in the attacking midfield position, while Lamine Yamal returned to the starting lineup after a three-week injury layoff.

Barcelona began the match energetically in front of approximately 40,000 spectators. Raphinha nearly opened the scoring twice, including a volley that sailed over the crossbar following a cross from Jules Kounde. In the 17th minute, Barcelona broke the deadlock with a swift attack down the left flank. Gavi met a low cross from Alejandro Balde and slotted the ball past goalkeeper Unai Simon.

In this match, Inaki Pena lost his starting spot for Barcelona due to a late arrival. Wojciech Szczesny continued to guard the goal after his debut in the 4-0 Copa del Rey victory against Barbastro on January 4th.

Bilbao began to apply more pressure from the middle of the first half. In the first minute of stoppage time, Szczesny made a crucial save for Barcelona, rushing out to deny Inaki Williams' close-range effort.

Barcelona regrouped after the break with a clear determination to reach the final. In the 52nd minute, Yamal marked his return with a goal to seal the 2-0 victory. The 17-year-old received a through ball from Gavi, eluding the offside trap, before turning and calmly finishing past Unai Simon.

Yamal’s goal sealed Barcelona's 2-0 victory over Bilbao on the evening of January 8th.

In contrast to Yamal's scoring touch, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski continued to struggle for sharpness in front of Bilbao's goal. In the 54th minute, Raphinha delivered a cross into the six-yard box, but the Polish striker's deflected shot was diverted wide by Simon.

Around the midpoint of the second half, Flick made five substitutions for Barcelona. Frenkie De Jong almost became the culprit after coming on, as his touch deflected the ball into the path of Inaki Williams, who raced through and scored past Szczesny. However, after a VAR review, the referee ruled Williams offside and disallowed the goal.

On the evening of January 9th, Real Madrid will face Mallorca in the other semi-final. A victory for the current La Liga and Champions League holders would set up an El Clasico final against Barcelona on January 12th. In the first El Clasico of the La Liga season on October 26th, Real Madrid suffered a 0-4 defeat at their home ground, the Bernabeu.

The Spanish Super Cup is being held in Saudi Arabia with the participation of four teams: the top two finishers in La Liga and the two finalists of the 2023-2024 Copa del Rey. In last season's Super Cup final, Real Madrid triumphed over Barcelona 4-1 with a hat-trick from Vinicius.

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