Barcelona defeat Athletic to secure spot in Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia

Barcelona secured their spot in the Spanish Super Cup final with a convincing 2-0 victory over Athletic Club at King Abdullah Sports City, thanks to goals from Gavi in the 20th minute and Lamine Yamal in the 17th minute.

Despite the contrasting forms of the two teams, Hansi Flick’s squad started strongly, aiming to overcome a disappointing December by handing their opponents their first defeat in 15 matches.

Raphinha played a pivotal role in the Catalan side's offensive efforts, initially testing Unai Simon with a daring free-kick attempt before initiating the play that led to the opening goal.

With just over 15 minutes played, Raphinha's involvement culminated in Gavi scoring, as the midfielder tapped in from a low cross delivered by Alejandro Balde, marking his first goal since returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The pressure from Barcelona persisted, with Athletic's goalkeeper Simon fortunate to see a deflected clearance miss the target after hitting Robert Lewandowski, shortly before both Raphinha and Lamine Yamal squandered good opportunities within a brief span.

This moment marked the peak of Barcelona's first-half dominance, as Ernesto Valverde’s team began to find their rhythm, with Inaki Williams exploiting space in the channels, though he failed to test Wojciech Szczesny in the Barcelona goal.

Any hopes Valverde had of overcoming the team he previously led to two LaLiga titles were dashed shortly after the interval, as a series of careless mistakes from the Basque side allowed Yamal to extend the lead.

During a chaotic phase of play, Athletic players lost possession on three occasions, leading to Gavi threading a pass to Yamal, who calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner.

The goal silenced the crowd of Los Leones, as they displayed minimal effort in the final moments to suggest a potential comeback, with a late goal from Inaki Williams being disallowed, which provided Barcelona with their sole moment of anxiety.

Given the ease of Barcelona's situation, Flick took the opportunity to utilize all his substitutes, allowing key players to rest in preparation for the final on Sunday, where he seeks to secure his first Spanish trophy against either Real Madrid or RCD Mallorca.