Clone of Clone of Clone of Clone of Real Madrid book their place in the super clásico (1–2)

A full-blooded Madrid derby decided the final ticket to the Spanish Super Cup final. Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid both knew that only a win over their city rivals would keep their dream of starting the year with silverware alive.

The billing promised fireworks — and it delivered straight away. Just 75 seconds in, a foul on Gonzalo led to a thunderous strike from Fede Valverde that flew past Jan Oblak, giving Real Madrid the early lead.

After the opener, the match settled into a spell of back-and-forth control. Atlético searched for the equaliser through Julián Álvarez, Sørloth and Baena, but were denied by a strong performance from Courtois and an inspired Antonio Rüdiger at the back.

Koke, with 44 appearances, becomes the player with the most Madrid derbies played, surpassing Sergio Ramos.

Real Madrid soon responded with a huge double chance. Álvaro Carreras went on a powerful run, beating several defenders before setting up Rodrygo, who couldn’t finish after a sharp feint. Moments later, Vinícius Jr. had the second on his head, but his effort missed the target.

Before the break, Atlético enjoyed their best spell of the first half. Courtois produced a superb reflex save to deny Sørloth’s header, and the Norwegian went close again a minute later. Five minutes before halftime, Atlético had a triple chance through Baena, Julián and Gallagher, once more thwarted by Courtois and Rüdiger. The teams went into the break with Real Madrid holding a narrow 0–1 lead.

The second half opened with brief exchanges before Real Madrid struck again. Valverde slipped a perfectly weighted pass through the Atlético defence, and this time Rodrygo made no mistake, beating Oblak to make it 0–2.

Atlético refused to give in and were rewarded with a goal from Sørloth, who finished after a brilliant assist from Giuliano Simeone — the Argentine’s seventh of the season.

As the match entered its final stages, Antoine Griezmann nearly scored one of the goals of the season with an acrobatic effort from a Hancko cross, but Courtois was equal to it. Shortly after, Marcos Llorente came agonisingly close to finding the top corner, only to see his shot drift just wide. Atlético pushed until the end, but Real Madrid held firm to secure their place in the final.

The Super Cup champion will be decided in another Clásico — the 19th in history and the fourth consecutive final between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.