Real Madrid moved into the final of the Spanish super cup on Wednesday after beating Valencia 4-3 on penalties after a stalemate in 120 minutes.
Valencia tackled Real Madrid at the King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, in one of the two semi-final fixtures, with Barcelona set to tack Real Betis at the same venue.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side had the full complement of the first team, and it didn’t take long before Real Madrid took the lead when French striker Karim Benzema scored from the penalty spot to give Real Madrid a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute of the first half.
However, Real Madrid failed to double their advantage, and Valencia took the opportunity to crawl back into the game in the second half through Samuel Dias Lino immediately after the halftime break.
Neither side could break the deadlock for the remainder of the second half, and including the extra 30 minutes, Valencia missed two of their five spot kicks while Real Madrid scored all five.
Real Madrid Real now anticipates the winner of the Real Betis and Barcelona game, which is scheduled to be played on Thursday.
While Real Madrid won La Liga last season, with Barcelona coming second, Real Betis beat Valencia to win the Copa Del Rey title.
Real Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini saw his team win 2-1 against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga the weekend, and he has already stated that his team is in Saudi Arabia to beat Barcelona.
However, Barcelona manager Xavi has stated that he is already looking forward to winning the Supercopa de Espana, as it has been a long that Barcelona won the trophy.
“I have my hope and desire intact from the first day, I’m here to win titles, and if there are no titles this season, you’ll kill me; that’s how it is. We have a title in sight, four days away; we have to win tomorrow and go for it, it’s been a little while without titles, and it’s time (to win them) now.” Xavi said.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu