Barcelona won the Super Cup final on Sunday against Real Madrid with a dominating display, showcasing their ingratiating mentality under new coach Hansi Flick.
The Original Result
Barcelona won the game 5-2 in Jeddah. Barcelona started off the game with two early chances to score, but Courtois cleared any sign of danger. Real Madrid scored their first goal off a counter-attack from Barcelona’s corner attempt after a slip from Marc Casadó in the 5th minute.
Barcelona dominated the play with possession and slick passing, this got them the equalizer at 22 minutes off Lamine Yamal’s crisp finish into the net. Barcelona continued with the attacking momentum and scored the second off a penalty converted by Lewandowski in the 36-minute. Barcelona then recklessly scored the third and the fourth from Raphinha’s header and Balde’s finish to score 4-1. The scoreline was looking tremendous for Barcelona and a nightmare for Madrid.
Barcelona started the second half with a smooth finish from Raphinha to make it 5-1. Barcelona was confident of scoring more until an unexpected red card shifted Barcelona’s strategy to focus more defensively. Szczęsny was sent off in the 56th minute after denying Mbappe’s opportunity to score. Szczęsny had the role of a sweeper keeper which he nailed in the first half but a small mistake led him to leave the pitch.
This incident made things slow for Barcelona and they overloaded the defense focusing on maintaining the lead. Barcelona won the game 5-2.
What If?
According to my analysis, many Barcelona fans believed that if Szczęsny had little composure and stayed in goal the result could’ve been a lot different. Let’s assume if Mbappe scored that 1-on-1 opportunity the score line would be 5-2. Madrid was lazy all over the pitch and this was their fourth or fifth chance to score, if this goal was converted I still think Barcelona would’ve played football with an attacking mindset.
The score line could easily be 7 or 8 in our favor because the red card forced Lamine to be substituted and if all 11 players were on the pitch Barcelona were in the mood to score more. My prediction in that case would’ve been 8-2, this was a chance to complete the revenge against Madrid all for once. Do tell me your thoughts in the comment section what do you think about this.