Last Update: January 13, 2023, 07:29 IST
Padre shines for Barca as they beat Real Betis (Barcelona Twitter Handle)
Barcelona beat Real Betis 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time to progress to the Spanish Super Cup final
Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved two penalties and Pedri converted the decisive spot kick as Barcelona beat Real Betis 4 in a shootout on Thursday to set up the Spanish Super Cup final against rivals Real Madrid this weekend in Saudi Arabia. Defeated by -2.
Madrid beat Valencia on penalties in the other semi-final on Wednesday after Thibaut Courtois pulled off a crucial save.
“Ter Stegen makes the difference,” said Barcelona coach Xavi. “He makes two saves and sends us to the final.”
The decider will take place on Sunday at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.
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Barcelona converted all four of their penalties in the shootout and Ter Stegen saved efforts from Juanmi and Willian Carvalho to seal the victory for the Catalan club.
“The match was very difficult, Betis made it difficult for us,” Ter Stegen said. “In the end it’s about making it to the final, and we made it. You also need luck in the shootout and it was in our favor this time.”
The teams were tied 1–1 in regulation after Robert Lewandowski scored for Barcelona in the first half and Nabil Fekir equalized near the end for Betis. The score was 2–2 after extra time as Annu Fati gave Barcelona an early lead and Laurent Morone equalized again for Betis.
Fati, Lewandowski and Frank Casey also scored for Barcelona in the shootout. Morón and Willian converted for Jose Betis.
It will be the first time Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Madrid meet in a Super Cup final since the competition was revamped and moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020.
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“It will be a beautiful match,” said Ter Stegen. “Everyone here wants to see a match like this and I’m thrilled to play in this and try to win it.”
Madrid will seek to match Barcelona with 13 Spanish Super Cup trophies, the most among all clubs. Barcelona will be trying to win their first Super Cup trophy since 2018.
Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis were seeking to reach their first Super Cup final since 2005 when they lost to Barcelona.
“We are disappointed, the team played a great game,” said Pellegrini. “We felt we deserved the win in regulation but it just wasn’t possible, and then Ter Stegen made some good saves.”
The Super Cup used to be played only between the Spanish league champion and the Copa del Rey winner, but now the runners-up in both competitions also take part in the Final Four tournament which was moved to Saudi Arabia in a lucrative deal for Spanish football. Federation.
Madrid beat Barcelona 3–1 at home in the first “clásico” of the season at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in October.
Lewandowski scored his first goal since World Cup after Ousmane Dembele’s pass in the 40th minute. He scored in Poland’s 3–1 defeat to France in the round of 16 in Qatar in December, but has not scored for Barcelona since a 1–0 win at Valencia in the Spanish league in October.
Betis equalized in the 77th when Fekir sent a low shot past Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Lewandowski thought he had scored his second – and a potential winner late in regulation – but the goal was disallowed for offside in the buildup.
Fati scored early in extra time with a volley from inside the area, and Morrone equalized the match after almost 10 minutes with a backheel touch from close range.
Betis played out the final minute of extra time with 10 men as Andres Guardado was sent off with a second yellow card for a foul.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)