Barcelona didn’t need Lamine Yamal to reach the Spanish Super Cup Final, as they humiliated Athletic Bilbao in a 4-0 rout in the semi-final.
In contrast to the expectations, the game was completely one-sided and turned out to be a humiliation for Athletic.
Saudi Arabia has been the traditional location for the Spanish Super Cup for several years now. In total, four clubs compete for the title.
Barcelona’s and Athletic’s encounter in the first semi-final did not live up to its potential as a “fight” between the two clubs, since the actions that took place on the field looked much more like a public execution than a battle.
Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski. They’re not the players that were in the starting lineup for FC Barcelona. Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski are actually the players that were on the bench for FC Barcelona. 20-year-old Rooney Bardji and not Nico Williams for Athletic were in the starting line-up from the beginning of the match.
The first 30 minutes of the match were quite dull, as both teams lacked creativity in their attacks. However, no one could have imagined how one-sided the match would be when the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, and FC Barcelona had won 4-0.
Unai Simon saved Fermín López’s shot with his hand. However, the reaction of Unai Simon only seemed to energize the blaugrana team. Only two minutes later Ferran Torres scored the opening goal for FC Barcelona with a somewhat awkward finishing touch. Just eight minutes later, Raphinha set up an open Fermín López, and he easily scored the second goal for Barcelona in the empty corner. Unai Simon did not even bother to jump in this case.
Only four minutes later it was already 0-3. Rooney Bardji faked past a defender and then essentially drilled the ball through Unai Simon. Unai Simon should receive a lot of criticism for this one. Four minutes later, Raphinha passed Jesús Areso and scored his third goal in the near post. 4-0 at halftime — an incredible result. Fermín collected 3 points (1+2) in the goal/assists system. Raphinha and Bardji — 2 each (1+1).
FC Barcelona attacked very relaxed and never gave Athletic any pressure, however Athletic’s defense was falling apart. If your defense is having that kind of problem, you can’t do anything about it. However, Athletic almost scored right before halftime. Oihan Sancet hit what looked like a certain goal, but the ball hit the post. We’ll be honest — Barça got extremely lucky here.
FC Barcelona Yamal – britannica.com
Right after the break, Athletic fans received another blow. After a long attacking move with many rebounds, Raphinha scored his second goal for Barcelona in the final minute of the half. Barcelona dominated the entire match, and they made it to the Spanish Super Cup final without needing Lamine Yamal. Lamine entered the match in the 72nd minute.
Not long after that, Barça got lucky once again. Unai Gómez performed perfectly. He perfectly timed his run to get ahead of the offside trap and then got away from the defender. He found himself one-on-one against the goalkeeper. The only thing Unai Gómez had to do was shoot at the target… but he missed the target and hit the ball just wide of the far post. How can you miss such a great opportunity?
Barcelona reached the Spanish Super Cup final in the easiest way possible. Now, Barça will have to wait until January 11, when they will play either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid in the final. The second semi-final will be held on January 8.
