Raphinha’s brace seals Barcelona’s Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah thriller over Real Madrid
Monday January 12, 2026
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JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Barcelona retained the Spanish Super Cup with a breathless 3-2 win over Real Madrid on Sunday night, riding a two-goal performance from Raphinha and a wave of late resistance to lift the trophy in a raucous Jeddah final.
The Brazilian winger struck first just before halftime and delivered the decisive touch in the 73rd minute, his second effort taking a fortuitous deflection off Raul Asencio to wrong-foot Thibaut Courtois. Barcelona finished with 10 men after Frenkie de Jong was sent off late for a high challenge on Kylian Mbappe, who entered as a substitute, but held on as Real Madrid poured forward in stoppage time.
Madrid manager Xabi Alonso set up conservatively, leaving Mbappe on the bench, drafting Dean Huijsen into central defense for Antonio Rudiger and asking his side to sit deep and spring forward on the counter. Barcelona, cautious not to gift Madrid transitions, initially kept the ball without leaving many gaps.
The opening half-hour reflected that chess match. Vinicius Junior, sharp after midweek criticism, and Gonzalo Garcia each found pockets on the break, but both directed tame efforts at Joan Garcia in the Barcelona goal. Slowly, Barcelona pushed Madrid back. Fermin Lopez stung Courtois’ gloves, Lamine Yamal began to purr on the right, and Raphinha dragged wide when slipped in by the teenager on 35 minutes.
Within a minute, Raphinha corrected course, drilling a low shot past Courtois to put Barcelona in front. With Yamal stretching the field and Pedri dictating tempo, Barcelona threatened to put the game away before the break, Courtois denying Fermin again and Yamal flashing a near-post drive inches wide.
Then the final minutes of the half erupted. In first-half stoppage time, Vinicius tilted the field, collecting near the halfway line, outpacing Jules Kounde, cutting across Pau Cubarsi and rifling beyond Garcia to equalize. Barcelona hit back almost instantly: Pedri slipped a clever pass into Robert Lewandowski, who swept home as Madrid protested that the halftime whistle should have sounded.
Two minutes later, the referee allowed play to continue — and Madrid made the most of it. From a corner, Huijsen’s thumping header rattled the crossbar; Gonzalo Garcia reacted fastest to stab in the rebound for 2-2, capping a wild, extended period before the break.
Madrid returned from the interval with intent. Vinicius and Rodrygo each forced saves from Garcia, whose handling steadied Barcelona amid the surge. But Raphinha would tilt the final back in his team’s favor. Turning on the edge of the area in the 73rd minute, he let fly; the shot clipped Asencio, wrong-footed Courtois and nestled in for 3-2.
Alonso turned to his bench — including Mbappe for a late cameo — and Madrid pressed for a lifeline. The closing minutes brought tension and controversy. De Jong saw red for a high challenge on Mbappe, leaving Barcelona to defend their lead a man down. In added time, Alvaro Carreras and Aurelien Tchouameni both had looks to force extra time, but their efforts went straight at Garcia. When the final whistle sounded, Barcelona’s bench spilled onto the pitch to celebrate a hard-fought, deserved crown.
Beyond the drama, the final offered clear signposts for both sides. Barcelona’s balance — experience from Lewandowski and De Jong, youthful thrust from Yamal, and match-winning edge from Raphinha — carried them through an uneven spell. Pedri’s intelligence knitted phases together, while Garcia’s positioning and calm under pressure were decisive in the second half.
For Madrid, the structure largely worked as designed. The deep block limited space for Barcelona to surge through the middle, and set pieces, spearheaded by Huijsen’s aerial threat, caused repeated problems. Yet Madrid’s cutting edge arrived in bursts rather than waves, and while Vinicius was electric in transition, the late introduction of Mbappe came too late to flip the script.
In a final that hinged on margins, fortune favored the bold. Raphinha’s first strike came from Barcelona’s best period of sustained pressure; his winner owed a nick of luck but reflected his persistent willingness to turn and threaten. Between those bookends, the match swung on a blur of stoppage-time goals and a keeper’s steady hands.
Barcelona’s successful title defense in Saudi Arabia underscores their ability to manage moments under stress. Madrid, meanwhile, leave Jeddah with cause for optimism — depth in defense, danger on set plays, and a frontline that, with more minutes together, should sharpen. If Sunday’s contest is a preview of the season’s arc between these rivals, the next chapter promises the same blend of calculation and chaos.
Key moments
- First-half balance shifts: Barcelona grow into the game as Yamal and Pedri find rhythm; Raphinha misses, then scores from the edge of the box.
- Stoppage-time whirlwind: Vinicius equalizes with a solo run; Lewandowski restores Barcelona’s lead off Pedri’s pass; Gonzalo Garcia levels after Huijsen’s header hits the bar.
- Decider at 73: Raphinha turns and shoots; a deflection off Raul Asencio wrong-foots Courtois for 3-2.
- Late push and dismissal: De Jong sent off for a high challenge on Mbappe; Garcia saves from Carreras and Tchouameni in added time.
On a night when both teams flirted with control but traded in volatility, Barcelona made the decisive play and found the final stop. The Spanish Super Cup stays in Catalonia — delivered by Raphinha’s ruthlessness and a back line that held its nerve when it mattered most.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
