After a slow opening phase, it was Vinícius Júnior who gave Real the lead in the 25th minute. He took advantage of Sergio Busquets’ clumsy loss of possession just before that. A few minutes later, Thibaut Courtois saved a header by Luuk de Jong.
On the stroke of half-time, Luuk de Jong scored. A little lucky because the ball landed on his lower leg through a luck and rolled into the goal of The Royal. It was already the third goal in three games by the Dutchman who seemed to be in the kicker at FC Barcelona. Spanish media recently reported that a transition to Cádiz is imminent.
At halftime, Frenkie de Jong remained in the dressing room and was replaced by Pedri. The Catalans started energetically. A shot from the same Pedri went just wide and deserved more. Luuk de Jong also almost got his second goal after he accidentally saw the ball land on his head.
Fifteen minutes before the end, it was Karim Benzema who put Barcelona behind again: 2-1. A few minutes before that, Luuk de Jong had left the field.
In the final phase it was still equal again. Ansu Fati signed for the 2-2 on his return after a long period of injury. The talented attacker was injured in early November. The 19-year-old Spanish international had just recovered from a serious knee injury at the time.
Memphis Depay, who started on the bench, was now also on the field. The Dutchman was also unable to make the difference in extra time. Real quickly took a new lead after a quick counter that Federico Valverde managed to finish: 3-2. Real Madrid’s win was the 100th in the Clásico.
Real Madrid will play in the final against Atlético Madrid or Athletic Club for the Spanish Supercup on Sunday.