Jeddah, Jan 10 (NationPress) Real Madrid is set to face FC Barcelona in the final of the Spanish Supercup this Sunday, following a decisive 3-0 victory against Mallorca in the second semifinal held in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.
Jude Bellingham dismantled Mallorca's defense in the 63rd minute, skillfully maneuvering the ball through a crowded area after Rodrygo struck the post with a diving header, and Kylian Mbappe's follow-up shot was expertly saved by Mallorca's goalkeeper Dominik Greif.
In the second minute of injury time, Mallorca defender Martin Valjent inadvertently redirected Brahim Diaz's attempted pass to Mbappe into his own goal. Almost at the conclusion of the match, Rodrygo marked his birthday with a celebratory goal, finalizing the score at 3-0, as reported by Xinhua.
Mallorca's coach Jagoba Arrasate emphasized the importance of a strong start, but his team almost fell behind right from the first minute when a run by Mbappe set up Bellingham, whose effort was blocked by Greif.
Following this, Mbappe assisted Rodrygo, whose near-post attempt nearly found the net before Mbappe had one of his own denied.
Real Madrid maintained the offensive pressure, while Mallorca focused on defense, attempting to limit the space for Mbappe and Vinicius, who had a couple of heated exchanges with Mallorca right-back Pablo Maffeo.
Aurelien Tchouameni took a long-range shot that Greif managed to parry, and Bellingham also forced Greif into action after creating space near the edge of the penalty area.
Mallorca relied on its attacking trio, Dani Rodriguez, Vedat Muriqi, and Cyle Larin, to pose a threat, though Larin squandered a good opportunity by heading Rodriguez's cross wide while unmarked in the Madrid box.
The breakthrough came for Real Madrid when Bellingham found the net in the 63rd minute, and the runner-up from last season's Copa del Rey struggled to regain their footing in the match.
As tensions escalated towards the end, Maffeo reacted poorly to Bellingham's light slap on the back of his head after the third goal, with young Madrid defender Raul Asencio also getting involved.
FC Barcelona triumphed over Athletic Bilbao in the first semifinal on Wednesday, with goals from Gavi and Lamine Yamal on either side of halftime.
