Twice he took the lead Barça and both times he answered a combative Betis who only died in the penalty shootout. It was an intense and volcanic duel in which the Catalans conceded too much but were able to survive a roller coaster that ended with the final launch of Pedri and an exhibition of Ter Stegen.
Redemption
Two and a half months later, Robert Lewandowski He celebrated a goal with Barça again. He did not have a Polish-inspired start to the match, too much failure in his first shots, but in a player with his talent the reward always ends up coming. The ‘nine’ took advantage of a ball from Dembele’s to overtake Barça. The first shot from him ran into Luiz Felipe but decided after rejection. He did not score from the October 29thwhen he gave victory to Barça in Mestalla.
The striker later ran into the VAR, but scored his penalty de la tanda con su classic paradinha. El Domingo aspires to su first title with the Barça club at a difficult time for him, especially motivated by the three games of suspension that he drags on in the League, in which he is the outstanding ‘pichichi’. He has two more to go, but he won’t be missing in the final in Arabia against him Madrid.
The controversy
It was 23 minutes into the game and Barça broke Betis’ defensive mold with a beautiful irruption of Pedri from the second line. The Canarian star finished off a remarkable service from the left with his left Raphinha, always more comfortable on the right than on the left. The auction surprised Bravothe former Barça goalkeeper who is usually a substitute in the League, displaced by Rui Silva. The Chilean’s buttery hands made it easy for the ball to end up in the net, but the VAR truncated the happiness blaugrana The Brazilian winger was offside when he controlled the ball before his cut and cross back.
By a few centimeters, or rather millimeters, the goal ended up being annulled by the man from Madrid of the big hill, warned from the VOR room by Iglesias Villanueva. The move will go down in history as the first semi-automatic offside in national competitions of Spain. With this system, which also annulled Lewandowski’s 1-2, there are 12 cameras that process 29 body points to determine if the position is legal or not.
Marking to…
Madrid reached the final with another display of Courtois, the goalkeeper who always avoids white dramas. It was Ter Stegen’s turn not to be less than the Belgian and he fulfilled a very high note to contain Betis. If in the first scare it was Araujo who torpedoed Fekir after a bad assignment Koundéon the second great occasion a fantastic Ter Stegen.
Zamora from the League also expanded in the Super Cup after a corner kick taken by the French midfielder who headed Pezella. The German avoided the goal with his left hand practically under the sticks when the ball was already slipping through. Barça survived thanks to the German in a section of the game in which the Andalusians were especially dangerous set pieces. His festival continued with other decisive saves in shots from Rodri and Luiz Henrique at the edge of rest, another to Miranda in the second part and its of stopped penalties.
The amount
He will turn 35 in July and continues to break records. Everything points to that Sergio Busquets He will finish his career in the US, but he still has time to leave his mark at Barça. In the semifinal against Betis he was alternatebut he entered in the 63rd minute for De Jong and fulfilled his party number 700 with the Barcelona shirt, which places him in the third box of the podium, only behind Messi (778) y Xavi, his current coach (767). “There is a before and after Busi. He is a transcendental footballer, the captain and an example of professionalism,” the coach reflected on the player from Badia del Vallés.
The pivot has spent more than 14 years in the first team since its debut in September 2008, endorsed by Pep Guardiola. Since then, he collects 700 games, 18 goals and 30 titles with the Barcelona shirt. This Sunday the 31st may fall.
the high
There are players who have a special elf even in his weakest moments. When Barça most needed the appearance of a savior Xavi resorted to Ansu Fati. He came on in the 86th minute and was about to beat Bravo with an added action that disrupted Bravo. But fate reserved another special moment for the youth squad. In the beginning of the prorogation the striker hit a beautiful left-footed volley that gave Barça a momentary lead.
Betis put the tables again and Ansu caressed the third with another beautiful heel shot. It was not possible and the duel ended in the round of penalty shootout. The young striker also scored in the shootout, one of the good news in a convulsive duel with a happy ending.
