Real won the 8-goal Arabian thriller in the final

 Real won the 8-goal Arabian thriller in the final

Antonio Ruediger of Real Madrid (R) celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Jude Bellingham during the Super Copa de Espana semi-final match between Real Madrid CF and Atletico Madrid at Al-Awwal Park on January 10, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia(Image-Getty)

Carlo Ancelotti's words to Movistar Plus after the final whistle give an idea of what the competition was like on the field, 'Great! But we don't enjoy such matches. There is a lot of pressure. Two very strong teams have squeezed everything in the field.

Very true. The scoreline testifies in favor of squeezing the players on the field. Last night at the Al Awal Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Spanish Super Cup Semi-Final saw an 8-goal thrill in the 'Madrid Derby', where Real won 5-3. That's the game behind twice to win! What Ancelotti really said, push too much! Of course, it costs the audience money. This match gave thrill like the story of 'Arabya Rajini'. Probably the best match of the Spanish season so far.

The winner of the other semi-final between Barcelona and Osasuna will face Real in the final on Sunday. Looking at the semi-finals, Real will prepare for that match. Falling behind at the beginning of the match, own goals - there are opportunities to correct these things. Atlético Madrid took the lead after 6 minutes thanks to Mario Hermoso's header. In the 20th minute, Real equalized with Antony Rudiger's goal from Luka Modric's corner. Ancelotti's team went ahead with Ferlan Mendi's goal after 9 minutes. But Antoine Griezmann had something else in mind. In the 37th minute, the French star scored a personal effort with a long-range shot. With this goal, Atletico not only left the field with equality in the first half, Griezmann also saw the record. Griezmann is the top goalscorer in Atletico Madrid's history (174), surpassing Luis Aragones.

At the 78th minute of the match after the break, Atletico went ahead again with Rudiger's own goal. Despite two or three good saves in the match, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was lacking in this goal. Couldn't clear the ball properly. Real equalized after 7 minutes with Dani Carvajal's goal. Carvajal scored on the rebound after blocking shots from Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham. If the regulation time ends in a 3-3 tie, the game goes into extra time.

In extra time, Atlético suffered a suicide goal in the 116th minute of the match by Stefan Savic. And in the very last moment of the match, Brahim Diaz scored the last goal from counter-attack. Desperate to equalize, Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak rushed into Real's box hoping to score from a corner. Brahim Diaz did not make a mistake in taking the opportunity.

After the loss, Atletico coach Diego Simeone said, 'I told the players, I am proud of their performance. The result was unfortunate but they played brilliantly!'

The two city rivals will meet again next week in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey. However, before that, the record book was also turned upside down in the 8-goal 'thriller' of the two neighbors in the thrill of Riyadh. The X account on football statistics 'Mr Chip' reported that this was the first match with at least 8 goals since November 12, 1950 (Real 3-6 Atlético) in the Madrid derby. This is the first time since 1983 that Real scored at least 5 goals against Atletico in a recognized match.