Atlético Madrid 1-2 Real Madrid: Rodrygo and Valverde strike as Los Blancos reach Supercopa final | OneFootball

Real Madrid secured victory over Atlético Madrid to reach a repeat of last year’s Supercopa de España final against Barcelona.

Goals from Federico Valverde and Rodrygo sealed the win, ensuring Los Blancos progress with confidence to the decisive clash against their rivals on Sunday.

As it happened

Real Madrid took the lead inside the opening minute, with Federico Valverde hammering home a superb free kick from outside the penalty area.

Alexander Sørloth’s effort to equalise was blocked, before Real Madrid went on to threaten twice more from free kicks.

Atlético Madrid struggled to find their rhythm following Valverde’s early strike, with possession evenly shared between the two sides.

Sørloth had a second opportunity on goal, but his effort was hit straight at Thibaut Courtois.

Shortly after, Giuliano Simeone went to ground inside Real Madrid’s penalty area, but the referee waved away appeals for a foul.

Atlético began to build momentum after twenty minutes but were yet to test Courtois, who had far less to do than Jan Oblak.

Marcos Llorente tried his luck, but his shot was blocked from outside the box, but the ball was stolen by Real Madrid in a counterattack.

Rodrygo surged down the right following an Atlético corner and raced into the penalty area before firing a shot straight at Oblak.

The keeper saved comfortably, but the rebound fell to Vinícius Júnior, whose header went over the bar.

Following a brief cooling break, Álex Baena had a chance to equalise, but his shot from the edge of the box forced a save from Courtois which earned Atlético a corner.

From the resulting set-piece, Sørloth flicked the ball at the near post, but it was saved. Atlético continued to press Real Madrid as the first half approached its conclusion.

Courtois had his work cut out before half-time, making crucial saves from Baena, Julián Alvarez, and Conor Gallagher.

Sørloth came close to scoring for Atlético in the opening minutes of the second half, but his effort was blocked, and he was penalized for a foul.

Simeone made one change at the break, with Conor Gallagher replaced by Robin Le Normand.

Le Normand had a chance from a distance, but his long-range shot sailed wide. Atlético started the second half as brightly as they finished the first.

Valverde unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box, but unlike his opening goal, the effort lacked precision and sailed over Oblak’s crossbar.

Real Madrid extended their lead through Rodrygo, who calmly slotted the ball into the net following a precise pass from Valverde.

Just three minutes later, Sørloth finally found the net with a close-range header at the far post.

As the hour mark approached, the game was end-to-end, with Atlético enjoying most of the possession.

Atlético began to slow down in the final twenty minutes but still managed six shots, with one on target.

Real Madrid came close to a third through Rodrygo, but his shot was comfortably held by Oblak.

Vinícius was shown a yellow card for time wasting as he made way for Arda Güler, Simeone was also shown a card for arguing with the winger.

Simeone’s side came close to equalizing through Antoine Griezmann, whose brilliant scissor kick was well saved by Courtois.

Llorente also saw his effort denied as Atlético hunted for a second goal and came close again following a corner.

Real Madrid will face Barcelona in Sunday’s final, aiming to avenge their 5-2 defeat in last year’s showdown.

The line-ups:

ATM: Oblak, Llorente, Hancko, Pubill, Ruggeri, Gallagher, Koke, Baena, Simeone, Sørloth, Alvarez