Barcelona beats Real Betis to set up Super Cup final against Real Madrid

MarcAndreacute ter Stegen saved two penalties and Pedri converted the deciding spot kick as Barcelona defeated Real Betis 42 in a shootout to set up a Spanish Super Cup final against rival Real Madrid this weekend in Saudi ArabiaMadrid defeated Valencia on penalties in the other semifinal on Wednesday when Thibaut Courtois made the decisive saveTer Stegen makes the difference Barcelona coach Xavi said He makes the two saves and sends us to the finalThe decisive match will be on Sunday at the King Fahd Stadium in RiyadhBarcelona converted all four of its penalties in the shootout and Ter Stegen stopped the efforts by Juanmi and Willian Carvalho to give the Catalan club the victoryThe match was super difficult Betis made it tough for us Ter Stegen said In the end its about making it to finals and weve made it You also need some luck in the shootout and this time it was on our sideAlso readDembeles goal moves Barcelona three clear in La LigaThe teams drew 11 in regulation after Robert Lewandowski scored for Barcelona in the first half and Nabil Fekir equalized for Betis near the end The score was 22 after extra time as Ansu Fati gave Barcelona an early lead and Loren Moroacuten equalized again for BetisIn the shootout Fati Lewandowski and Franck Kessie also scored for Barcelona Moroacuten and Willian Joseacute converted for BetisIt will be the first time Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Madrid meet in the Super Cup final since the competition was revamped and taken to Saudi Arabia in 2020It will be a beautiful match Ter Stegen said Everyone here wants to see a match like this and Im thrilled to be able to play in it and to try to win itMadrid will try to equal Barcelona with 13 Spanish Super Cup trophies the most among all clubs Barcelona will be trying to win its first Super Cup trophy since 2018Manuel Pellegrinis Betis was trying to reach its first Super Cup final since 2005 when it lost to BarcelonaWe are disappointed the team played a great match Pellegrini said We felt like we deserved to win in regulation but it wasnt possible and then Ter Stegen made some good savesThe Super Cup used to be played only between the Spanish league champion and the Copa del Rey winner but now the runnersup in both competitions also participate in Final Four tournament that was taken to Saudi Arabia in a lucrative deal for the Spanish soccer federationMadrid defeated Barcelona 31 at home in the first claacutesico of the season at the Santiago Bernabeacuteu Stadium in OctoberLewandowski scored his first goal since the World Cup after a pass from Ousmane Dembeacuteleacute in the 40th minute He scored in Polands 31 loss to France in December in the round of 16 in Qatar but hadnt found the net for Barcelona since a 10 win at Valencia in the Spanish league in OctoberBetis equalized in the 77th when Fekir sent a low shot past Barcelona goalkeeper MarcAndreacute ter StegenLewandowski thought he had scored his second and a possible winner late in regulation but the goal was disallowed for offside in the buildupFati scored early in extra time with a volley from just inside the area and Moroacuten evened the match about 10 minutes later with a backheel touch from close rangeBetis played the final minutes of extra time with 10 men as Andreacutes Guardado was sent off with a second yellow card for a hard foulThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever