Historic rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid collided in Saudi Arabia on Sunday when the Blaugranas won the Spanish Super Cup in a tense 3-2 thriller.
Barca got two goals from Raphinha and another from Robert Lewandowski, always having an answer despite Gonzalo Garcia’s goal and set-up of Vinicius Junior’s thrilling goal.
MORE — Barcelona vs Real Madrid player ratings
The title is Barca’s record 16th Supercopa de Espana, their second in-a-row to put them three ahead of second-place Real Madrid. No other club has won more than three finals.
Barcelona lead Real Madrid by four points atop La Liga at the midpoint of the season.
El Clasico final score Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid
Raphinha 37', 73', VInicius Junior 45+2', Robert Lewandowskin 45+4', Gonzalo Garcia 45+5'
Barcelona vs Real Madrid live updates
Both sub including last swings for Alonso
Marcus Rashford and Gerard Martin come in for Garcia and Raphinha
The Real man removes Franco Mastantuono and Dani Ceballos for Camavinga and Vinicius
Stats say Barca in control
The top seven touch takers in the game are Blaugrans, from Jules Kounde’s 110 to Alex Balde’s 48.
Here comes Kylian Mbappe!
He flew in for the final and they’ll believe he’s got at least 15 minutes in him, or maybe just one moment of magic.
Gonzao Garcia comes off with his goal and assist.
Raphinha goal — Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid
Raphinha slips atop the 18 and sees his shot skitter off the shin of Raul Asensio en route to the goal.
RAPHINHA DOUBLE TO GIVE BARCELONA THE LEAD!
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 11, 2026
Catch the finish on ABC! pic.twitter.com/31hRTpkwSh
Subs!
We’ve got some movement.
Arda Guler replaces the injured Fede Valverde in the 68th minute, just after Barca made their first subs.
Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo entered for Fermin Lopez and Robert Lewandowski.
Oh Vini Jr!
He tears into a shot that Joan Garcia can’t handle, then is first to the rebound but butchers his chance well over the bar.
No changes at the break
Let’s see how it looks after the managers had their say(s).
Halftime — Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid
This was all Barca right up until Real tied it at one, and that felt unfair.
Hard to make the same case after Real again answered the bell to make it 2-2.
Goncalo Garcia goal — Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid
Proper EL Clasico, this.
Barca want a review for handball, but Real hit the bar through Dean Huijsen’s header.
A lunging Goncalo Garcia gets low and beats the bottom of the bar and sees the ball fall over it for 2-2.
WHAT IS GOING ON 😱😱😱
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 11, 2026
BARCELONA 2-2 REAL MADRID!
TAKE A DEEP BREATHE!! pic.twitter.com/zzH5bD5f01
Robert Lewandowski goal — Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid
Oh, that’s a sweet response.
Pedri drives the middle of the pitch and finds Lewandowski in stride.
The Polish forward uses the outside of his foot to clip the ball around Courtois and inside the far post.
Some answer!
BARCELONA ANSWER RIGHT BACK THROUGH LEWANDOWSKI!!
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 11, 2026
THE END OF THIS FIRST HALF 😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/NeEY1XAoOU
Vinicius Junior goal — Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
He’s not having a great year, but this was vintage Vini Jr.
Fantastic from the Brazilian, who beats Jules Kounde to the corner then nutmegs the Barca back.
Vini has more to do and he dances around Pau Cubarsi to level a shot past Joan Garcia.
VINI JR. NUTMEGS KOUNDE AND FINISHES TO EQUALIZE FOR REAL MADRID! INSANE GOAL 😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/zHh9OBD35z
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 11, 2026
Raphinha goal — Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid
Real would’ve been thrilled to get to halftime at nil-nil. They will have no such luck.
The Brazilian catches Real’s right back way up field and Aurelien Tchouameni can’t put Raphinha in a bad position.
Raphinha waits to catch Tchouameni astride and snaps the ball through the defender’s legs, across goal, and just inside the post. A scorer’s finish in the 37th minute, assisted by Fermin Lopez.
RAPHINHA OPENS THE SCORING IN THE SPANISH SUPERCOPA 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CDKLXj2ctK
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 11, 2026
Gonzalo Garcia saved by Joan Garcia
The forward gets through to a shooting position but his low shot is missing pace and smothered by Joan Garcia.
Cooling break in Jeddah
It’s hot. It’s 0-0.
Barca have certainly had the better of play, and we’d love to know if Kylian Mbappe on the bench is a smoke screen or if he really has minutes in him.
No discipline for stamp
Carreras stamps on Yamal’s ankle well after the ball is gone.
No yellow is bonkers, let alone a review.
0-0, 23'
Real make an adjustment
It’s not a personnel move, but a formational one, as it appears the the trio atop their team is now a duo.
Gonzalo and Vini Jr are up top.
Barca bright at the start
Real are under duress in the first half-dozen minutes, and Pedri is pulling the strings.
There have been about 70 passes completed and Real have seven.
Remember: Real played their semifinal 24 hours after Barca.
Barcelona lineup
J. Garcia, Balde, Cubarsi, E. Garcia, Kounde, De Jong, Pedri, Yamal, Lipez, Raphinha, Lewandowski
Real Madrid lineup
Courtois, Valverde, Asencio, Huijsen, Carreras, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, Gonzalo.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid preview: Spanish Super Cup
Barca blasted Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday while Real Madrid outlasted local rivals Atletico Madrid 2-1 a day later to set up a Clasico for the final.
Formerly a match-up of the Copa del Rey and La Liga champions, it’s been expanded to four teams and includes the finalists of the previous Copa del Rey and first- and second-place teams in La Liga.
As Barca beat Real to last season’s La Liga title and in the Copa del Rey final, La Liga third and fourth place teams Atleti and Bilbao made the cut for this tournament.
The Blaugranas have won the most Spanish Super Cups with 15, ahead of Real’s 13. Barca also lead this season’s La Liga table with 49 points, four points more than Real, though the second-place side can point to October’s 2-1 Clasico triumph over Barca.
Barcelona team news, focus
Gavi and Andreas Christensen remain long-term absences, while Marc-Andre ter Stegen has picked up a new injury and may be headed out of town anyway.
Barca have had to spread the attacking responsibility around as several big names have missed time including Raphinha, who has come back with a vengeance and has nine goals and four assists in just 1,011 minutes. Lamine Yamal is leading the way but Fermin Lopez and Marcus Rashford have been good contributors, Robert Lewandowski has nine goals in just 945 minutes, and leading scorer Ferran Torres. Dani Olmo and Roony Bardghji have also been good in limited time.
Eric Garcia and Pedri are having terrific seasons and should be key performers whenever they’re available.
Real Madrid team news, focus
There are four recent question marks, though the fact that Kylian Mbappe has traveled to Jeddah is a new, good question given he was not expected to play a role in the Spanish Super Cup. Antonio Rudiger (knee), Marco Asensio (knock), and Rodrygo (hamstring) are the other worries.
Mbappe has 29 goals in 24 games this season and no other player has more than five, so he’d be quite the help. Vinicius Junior and Arda Guler both double-digit goal contributions but the attack has not been elite aside from Mbappe this season. Jude Bellingham has found a bit of form with a goal and an assist in his last three contests, but so far this season has been a disappointment as he’s been living off reputation since his incredible 2023-24 campaign in Spain.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid prediction
The “anything can happen” cliche seems apropos here, and Barca’s extra day of rest after a comfortable win gives them a leg up even before considering Real’s injury status. Xabi Alonso could use a win and a trophy, but perhaps this isn’t the time for him. Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid.
How to watch El Clasico — Barcelona vs Real Madrid in Spanish Super Cup Final, start time, more
Kick off time: 2pm ET Sunday
Venue: King Abdullah Sports City — Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
TV Channel: ABC
Streaming: ESPN+, Fubo
