After Real Betis and Barcelona drew 2-2 on the field of play on Thursday, Barcelona defeated Real Betis 4-2 on penalties to advance to the Supercopa de España final against Real Madrid.
In Riyadh, goals from Robert Lewandowski and Nabil Fekir forced extra time before Ansu Fati's miraculous goal was offset by Loren Moron's cunning backheel to force a penalty shootout.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen successfully blocked the penalty kicks of Juanmi and William Carvalho, ensuring Pedri's advancement to the championship match.
For the first time in the competition since it moved to a four-team structure in 2019–20, Barca will now take on Madrid on Sunday. Raphinha's slight offside before crossing for Pedri to score in the 23rd minute cost Xavi's team the opportunity to score.
But right before halftime, there was no denying them. Lewandowski scored after his initial attempt was stopped by Luiz Felipe after Ousmane Dembele dribbled past Aitor Ruibal on the left and fed him.
Until the 77th minute, when Luiz Henrique sold Ferran Torres a dummy on the edge of the box before setting up Fekir to beat Ter Stegen at his near post, the second half was fairly incident-free. Soon after, Lewandowski believed he had a second, but Barca was denied once more because Torres was offside during the buildup.
Two minutes into the extra period, they did regain the lead when Fati volleyed from just beyond the box into the bottom-right corner. However, Betis stormed back, with the vivacious Luiz Henrique setting up Loren, whose close-range backheeled shot was deflected in by Ronald Araujo.
Before the game went to penalties, Betis' replacement Andres Guardado was dismissed for receiving two bookings. Ter Stegen made two saves down to his right before Pedri sealed the victory.
BARCA SUCCEEDS DESPITE MISSING OPPORTUNITIES.
It was a competitive game in Saudi Arabia, similar to the match between Real Madrid and Valencia on Wednesday in that the favorites needed penalties to win.
Betis really tested Barca, outshooting them 15 to 12, and getting more shots on goal (7 to 6) to keep Ter Stegen busy. Even though Xavi's team ultimately prevailed, Manuel Pellegrini can be content with the way his team played.
ANSU FATI ONCE MORE EXHIBITS ENORMOUS PROMISE.
The 20-year-old has endured more injuries than his fair share over the past two years, yet he continues to demonstrate his talent time and time again.
Despite only entering the game in the 86th, Fati had four shots, more than any other Barca player, and was the only member of his team to score three times, including the stunning goal.
BUSQUETS APPEARS FOR THE 700TH TIME.
When Sergio Busquets made his 700th appearance for Barcelona in Riyadh, he came off the bench to receive cheers from the crowd and the captain's armband.
No Barca player won more tackles or made more interceptions than the 34-year-old, who was added to strengthen the midfield. Only Lewandowski (seven), who played the entire game, won more duels than the 34-year-five. old's
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