Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Atlético Madrid in Thursday’s Spanish Super Cup semi-final, booking a date with Barcelona. In a high-stakes clash in Jeddah, Fede Valverde’s blistering free-kick and a Rodrygo strike proved decisive, despite a late fightback led by Alexander Sørloth.
Los Blancos enjoyed a dream start after just two minutes when Valverde’s ferocious free-kick rocketed past Jan Oblak. The Uruguayan celebrated vehemently, clearly delighted to break his season-long goal drought at such a critical juncture for the club.
“After so many games without scoring, today was a great game to get back to it,” Valverde told Movistar. Despite the win, the midfielder remained self-critical, noting that the team must continue correcting mistakes and improving their defensive phases ahead of Sunday’s final.
With Kylian Mbappé still recovering from a knee sprain, Alonso kept faith in academy star Gonzalo García to lead the line. Madrid utilized a disciplined counter-attacking strategy, sitting deeper after the early lead and forcing Diego Simeone’s side to chase the game.
Thibaut Courtois proved vital in maintaining the advantage, producing a stunning save to deny a Sørloth header before the interval. This fifth consecutive victory confirms that Alonso has stabilized the ship following a turbulent end to 2025, setting the stage for a mouth-watering Clásico.
