REPORT | An electrifying game gets Barça into the final (2-2 and 2-4 pp)

This Spanish Supercopa will be remembered as a very emotional one because only the luck of the penalty shoot-out provides one of the two participating teams with the prize of qualification.

Just as on Wednesday's qualifying round, Real Betis and FC Barcelona delighted the fans with a great match full of alternatives. However, everything was decided in the end by the penalty shootout that makes FC Barcelona winners of the match.

FC Barcelona tried to take control of the situation from the beginning, being Dembélé very active on the left side generating great opportunities every time he faced Betis defence.

Lewandowski helped the team to attack better providing constantly goalscoring balls from both sides.

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In one of those actions, Pedri - named Man Of The Match of the match - managed to score Claudio Bravo from Raphinha's cross, but the automatic offside detection invalidated the action.

It was the first serious warning for the Real Betis goal confirmed by the Polish Lewandowski, who turned Bravo's rebound from Dembélé's shot into a goal since he was attentive to any ball.

Half-time came 0-1 before seeing Pellegrini's team react in a very energetic second half for Real Betis.

The Andalusians' determination was rewarded 15 minutes before the end of the match when Luiz Henrique's talented action culminated in a low shot from the edge of the area of the French player Nabil Fekir.

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There were still 15 minutes left in which both teams could have been qualified, but both Ter Stegen and Claudio Bravo made timely saves and Lewandowski's goal was disallowed by offside technology.

Extra time was inevitable in this match. Guardado was sent off for a double yellow card and none of these two great semi-finalists speculated.

In the end, two key saves by Ter Stegen in the penalty shootout allowed FC Barcelona to get into the final. They will play against Real Madrid in the first Supercopa final in the current and spectacular format of this competition.

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DATA SHEET

REAL BETIS: B. (2): Claudio Bravo, Aitor Ruibal (Sabaly 78´), Luiz Felipe, Pezzella, Miranda, Guido Rodríguez (Guardado 87´), Fekir (Loren 91´), Canales (William Carvalho 46´), Luiz Henrique, Rodri (Juanmi 78´) and Borja Iglesias.

Coach: Manuel Pellegrini

FC BARCELONA (2): Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto (Christensen 79´), Ronald Araujo, Kounde, Jordi Alba (Marcos Alonso 79´), Gavi (Kessie 96´), Pedri, Frenkie de Jong (Busquets 63´), Raphinha (Ansu Fati 87´), Dembélé (Ferran Torres 63´) and Lewandowski.

Coach: Xavi Hernández

GOALS: 0-1 (39´) Lewandowski takes advantage of a rebound inside the box; 1-1 (77') Fekir from the edge of the area after a Luiz Henrique action; 1-2 (93') Ansu Fati hits the ball into the back of the net after a clearance from the Betis defence; 2-2 (101') Loren from inside the penalty area after Araujo's rebound.

PENALTIS: William José (goal); Lewandowski (goal); Loren (goal); Kessie (goal); Juanmi (Ter Stegen saves it); Ansu Fati (goal); William Carvalho (Ter Stegen saves it); Pedri (goal)

REFEREE: Carlos del Cerro Grande cautioned with yellow card: Fekir (48´), Guido (79´), Miranda (92´) and Guardado (112´y 118´), who was sent off from Real Betis team, and Sergi Roberto (61´) and Raphinha (73´) from FC Barcelona.

Assistant referees: Guadalupe Porras Ayuso and Gonzalo García González

Fourth official: Juan Luis Pulido Santana

VAR: Nacho Iglesias Villanueva

AVAR: Santiago Jaime Latre

STADIUM: Second semi-final of Supercopa 2023, played at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). 38,624 spectators in the grandstands.