RIYADH: Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved twice from the spot to help Barcelona beat Real Betis 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw on Thursday, setting up a Clasico Spanish Super Cup final.
The Catalans will face their bitter rivals Real Madrid on Sunday after Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat Valencia on penalties on Wednesday.
Barcelona needed spot-kicks to see off Betis after an entertaining draw over 120 minutes at Riyadh’s King Fahd Stadium.
Robert Lewandowski put Barcelona ahead after 40 minutes but Betis playmaker Nabil Fekir levelled with 13 minutes remaining.
Ansu Fati smashed in a fine volley to put Barcelona ahead in extra-time but Loren Moron pulled Betis back level with a cunning backheel flick.
Ter Stegen denied Juanmi and William Carvalho in the shootout and Pedri converted the decisive spot-kick.
“(The final) will be a very nice game, everyone wants to see these type of games and we’ll be delighted to play it and win it,” Ter Stegen told Movistar.
The goalkeeper made some fine saves even before the shootout, where he was key.
“I would like to have less work in games,” Ter Stegen added, acknowledging that he was back to his best.
“For a year I’ve been at a very good level personally, physically, it’s the work too — every day I have a spectacular team that helps me improve and think about how to get better.”
Barcelona have not won the Spanish Super Cup since the change to a four-team format, with the first Saudi Arabia edition taking place in 2020.
After finishing last season without a single trophy and investing heavily in the summer despite the club’s debts, Xavi and his team are desperate for silverware.
Although winning the Super Cup will not be enough in itself, it would be a step in the right direction and Xavi’s first trophy since arriving in November 2021.
Pedri had an early strike disallowed for offside as the Catalans started well, but Betis soon found their comfort zone, inspired by the artistry of Fekir and dynamism of Luiz Henrique.
However, Lewandowski, who missed the win over Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday through suspension and was far from his best, broke the deadlock shortly before the break.
The Polish forward’s first effort was blocked but he brought the ball under control again and managed to beat Claudio Bravo at the near post.Ter Stegen made saves from Rodri and Henrique to keep Barcelona ahead, on a busy night for the German goalkeeper — just as it had been for his Madrid counterpart Thibaut Courtois the night before.
Fekir eventually levelled in the 77th minute after clever footwork from Henrique, who set him up, and the French midfielder drilled past Ter Stegen at his near post to force extra-time.
Three minutes into the additional period, Fati produced a piece of magic to put Barcelona back in front with a volley from the edge of the box.
It didn’t last long, with Betis striking through Moron’s clever effort, backheeled past Ter Stegen despite close attention from Ronald Araujo.
Fati tried to reply with a backheel of his own but former Barcelona stopper Bravo was alert to deny him.
Veteran Betis midfielder Andres Guardardo was sent off late in extra-time for two yellow cards, but Barcelona did not have long enough to capitalize before penalties.
Both sides converted their first two spot-kicks but Ter Stegen denied Juanmi to hand the Catalans the advantage.
Fati scored and Ter Stegen produced another save to foil Carvalho, with Pedri converting the next spot-kick to seal Barcelona’s progress.
“Betis fans should be proud of the team’s performance,” said defender Miranda, playing in the stead of Alex Moreno, who signed for Aston Villa this week.
“We are, with the fight that we showed. We have a lot to learn and I hope we can be here again many more times.”
Barca beat Betis on penalties, reach Clasico Super Cup final
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Barca beat Betis on penalties, reach Clasico Super Cup final
- The Catalans will face their bitter rivals Real Madrid on Sunday after Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat Valencia on penalties on Wednesday
Dortmund crush Wolfsburg 4-0 to get back into Champions League mix
The top four teams earn an automatic spot in next season’s lucrative Champions League
DORTMUND: Borussia Dortmund cruised past VfL Wolfsburg 4-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi both scoring twice, to get back into the top four and boost their chances of a Champions League spot next season.
The Ruhr Valley club, last season’s Champions League finalists who for weeks looked at risk of missing out on Europe’s premier club competition, climbed to fourth place on 51 points with their fifth win in the last six league games.
They are ahead on goal difference of Freiburg, who host Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday, and a point ahead of sixth-placed RB Leipzig, who drew 3-3 with league leaders Bayern Munich.
The top four teams earn an automatic spot in next season’s lucrative Champions League.
Guinea international Guirassy struck after three minutes, charging into the box and pouncing on some sloppy defending to tuck the ball home before adding another just before the hour after a superb passing move for his 19th league goal.
Substitute Adeyemi then took matters into his own hands with two goals in four minutes. He struck in the 69th, two minutes after coming on, following a superb solo 35-meter run and then made it 4-0 with a similar effort to put the game to bed.
Norris wins wet Miami sprint to trim Piastri’s lead by a point
- Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, winner of the season’s first sprint in China, finished third
MIAMI: Lando Norris won a crash-strewn and wet-to-dry Miami Grand Prix sprint race in a McLaren one-two on Saturday to cut teammate Oscar Piastri’s Formula One lead to nine points.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, winner of the season’s first sprint in China, finished third with the safety car leading the closing laps before peeling off at the end.
Atletico held at Alaves in dry Liga draw
- Diego Simeone’s side have little to play for in the final weeks of the season
- Alaves, however, moved provisionally 16th, three points clear of the relegation zone
VITORIA, Spain: Atletico Madrid were held to a dull 0-0 draw at relegation-battling Alaves on Saturday in La Liga.
Diego Simeone’s side have little to play for in the final weeks of the season, sitting third with Champions League qualification virtually assured and leaders Barcelona nine points ahead of them.
Alaves, however, moved provisionally 16th, three points clear of the relegation zone with an important point against their illustrious visitors.
Julian Alvarez was sent off in the only moment to get pulses racing in the first half when he connected high on Argentine compatriot Facundo Garces’ leg, but the referee downgraded his red card to yellow after a VAR review.
Simeone took off his son Giuliano and Antoine Griezmann as he looked for more energy, bringing on Samuel Lino and regular super-sub Alexander Sorloth.
Antonio Sivera saved a Lino long-range effort, Atletico’s first shot on target, with around 20 minutes remaining as what had been a soporific battle burst belatedly into life.
Jan Oblak made a superb low stop to thwart Kike Garcia from close range as Eduardo Caudet’s hosts almost found a way through.
Sivera clawed out a Clement Lenglet effort and Angel Correa could not convert at the end of a swift counter-attack as Atletico threatened but could not find a winner.
“Neither side could get the upper hand, either in possession or in attack, there were no shots in the first half — the game was played in the middle of the pitch without any danger,” admitted Simeone, who turned his attention to the Club World Cup this summer.
“We’ve earned (qualification) on our merit... the Club World Cup, a significant milestone for the last four years of work.”
Ayoze Perez struck twice for Villarreal as they beat Osasuna 4-2 to close in on Champions League qualification for next season.
The top five La Liga teams qualify and the Yellow Submarine are currently fifth, four points clear of Real Betis who visit Espanyol on Sunday.
Villa boost top five bid, Southampton beaten at Leicester
- Seventh-placed Villa extended their unbeaten run on home turf to 20 games in all competitions
- Emery said: “Today, we got more or less to be close to Europe. Wow, fantastic, brilliant”
LONDON: Unai Emery vowed Aston Villa will fight until the end for a place in the Champions League after boosting their bid with a 1-0 win against Fulham on Saturday.
Emery’s side are back in the hunt to finish in the Premier League’s top five thanks to Youri Tielemans’ 12th-minute header at Villa Park.
Seventh-placed Villa extended their unbeaten run on home turf to 20 games in all competitions, lifting them level with sixth-placed Nottingham Forest and fifth-placed Chelsea on 60 points.
After bouncing back from their dismal FA Cup semifinal loss to Crystal Palace last weekend, Villa will hope their rivals falter over the weekend as the top five race heads for a dramatic climax.
“If we weren’t winning today, forget it completely,” Emery said.
“Today, we got more or less to be close to Europe. Wow, fantastic, brilliant. The best gift we can achieve after it is the Europa League or Champions League.
“Champions League, okay. We are not favorites to get it because there is Nottingham Forest in front of us, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle.
“But we will fight for it, Europe, and hopefully we can fight for the Champions League.”
Southampton wasted a chance to avoid a share of the lowest points total in Premier League history as Jamie Vardy’s 199th Leicester goal inspired a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium.
Simon Rusk’s bottom of the table team are trying to avoid finishing with just 11 points — which would match Derby’s low mark set in 2007-08.
But Southampton’s hopes of getting a 12th point quickly faded against fellow relegated side Leicester.
After announcing last week that he will leave the club at the end of the season, the 38-year-old Vardy bagged a farewell goal as he put second-bottom Leicester ahead in the 17th minute.
The game was delayed for 11 minutes when referee David Webb was forced off with a head injury after colliding with Leicester’s Jordan Ayew.
Vardy cheekily blew the referee’s whistle while he was being treated.
Leicester finally won for the first time since January as Ayew grabbed the second goal in the 44th minute.
Southampton have now lost 28 of their 35 league games and have three matches left to avoid sharing the low points record with Derby.
Relegated Ipswich fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 in Everton’s penultimate match at Goodison Park.
Kieran McKenna’s third-bottom side trailed to Beto’s 26th minute goal and Dwight McNeil’s effort nine minutes later.
But Julio Enciso ‘s 30-yard rocket reduced the deficit in the 41st minute and George Hirst equalized with 11 minutes left.
Everton’s emotional last match at Goodison before moving to their new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium next season comes against Southampton on May 18.
Second-placed Arsenal host Bournemouth in Saturday’s late game as the Gunners warm up for their Champions League semifinal showdown with Paris Saint-Germain.
Mikel Arteta’s side lost 1-0 in the first leg on Tuesday and head to France for the second leg on Wednesday as they look to reach the final for the first time since 2006.
Leipzig put Bayern and Kane’s title party on ice
- Leroy Sane looked to have completed the comeback and clinch the title
- The result keeps Bayer Leverkusen’s slim chances of defending their Bundesliga title alive
MUNICH: Bayern Munich and Harry Kane’s German Bundesliga title party was delayed by at least a day after RB Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen scored a stoppage-time equalizer in a 3-3 home draw on Saturday.
With Kane sitting in the stands due to a yellow card suspension, Bayern fell two down by half-time, Leipzig scoring twice in teaming rain in Saxony through Benjamin Sesko and Lucas Klostermann.
Bayern then scored twice in 46 seconds through Eric Dier and Michael Olize to level things up with just under 30 minutes remaining.
Leroy Sane looked to have completed the comeback and clinch the title, hitting an unstoppable shot from the right of goal on the 83rd-minute mark.
But Poulsen, subbed on with 30 minutes to go, chipped the ball over Urbig in the fifth minute of stoppage time to snatch a draw.
The result keeps Bayer Leverkusen’s slim chances of defending their Bundesliga title alive.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen play at Freiburg on Sunday and need to win their three remaining games, with Bayern, who have a significant goal difference advantage, needing just a point to lift the title.
Leipzig grabbed the lead 11 minutes in when Sesko pounced on a mistake from visiting ‘keeper Jonas Urbig, who was slipped while well outside of his penalty box, allowing the Slovenian to hit a long-range shot home.
Klostermann doubled Leipzig’s lead shortly before half-time, heading in from a David Raum header.
Leipzig, who needed a win to boost their hopes of Champions League football next season, were in control and looked on track for victory until Bayern shocked the hosts with two goals in 46 seconds.
Dier headed in from a corner, his third goal in his past four games, before Olize made the most of a Leipzig defensive mistake to level the scores.
Sane’s late goal sent Bayern’s bench wild.
As the clock wound down, a beaming Kane made his way down from the stands to the sidelines, ready to collect the title of his career.
Poulsen was however sent through on goal by Xavi Simons and cooly chipped the ‘keeper to delay Bayern’s party by at least a day.
Later on Sunday, Borussia Dortmund can keep their top-four hopes alive with a win at home against Wolfsburg.
Champions League finalists last season, Dortmund were as low as 11th this year but have won four of their past five.
