Barça will face Real Madrid in the final after qualifying on penalties against Bétis Sevilla

At the end of the suspense, FC Barcelona joins Real Madrid for the final of this 2022-2023 Spanish Super Cup. Held in check at the end of regulation time and forced to play extra overtime, Barça got out of the trap set by Betis Sevilla via a breathless penalty shootout (2-2, 4-2 on pens). Author of two decisive saves, Marc-André ter Stegen took out his superhero costume to qualify his team. The German international goalkeeper has made an appointment for Sunday where a burning Clasico awaits him with his teammates.

It is to believe that Barça and Real are destined to meet to designate the champion of Spain. Already in the fight for first place in La Liga this season, Blaugranas and Blancos will compete to designate the winner of this thirty-ninth edition of the Spanish Super Cup. Like Real Madrid, Barça suffered to reach the final. And like Real Madrid, the solution came from an inspired goalkeeper in the penalty shootout. Thibaut Courtois on one side, ter Stegen on the other. Will this distance duel also be decisive in the final? Highly possible.

But before talking about this next Clasico with his locker room, Xavi Hernandez will be able to debrief this meeting against a courageous and eye-catching Betis. Twice, the Catalans led in the game. Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring following good service from Ousmane Dembélé (40th, 1-0), and Sergio Busquets came into play to total 700 games with the Barça shirt as a professional. But despite this glorious feat, Nabil Fékir responded to the Polish scoring machine with an oiled collective movement (77th, 1-1).

Ansu Fati’s volley

Faced with a valiant Andalusian team, Barça began to believe in their lucky stars when the cross volley from the left foot of Ansu Fati found the way to the goal from the start of extra time (93rd, 2-1) . Fékir had just been replaced, who could still prevent Barça from getting their ticket to the final? Against all expectations, substitute Loren Moron equalized with a subtle madjer (101st, 2-2).

With only thirteen minutes played since the start of the season with Betis, Moron sent a shiver down the spine of Barcelona. Reduced to ten following the exclusion of Andrés Guardado, Betis held on until the fateful penalty shootout. Decisive thanks to two parades in front of Juanmi and William Carvalho, ter Stegen contributed strongly to this narrow success of Barça, validated by the fourth shot on goal scored by Pedri. One thing is certain: this Sunday, the Barça-Real rivalry will experience a new chapter.