SHARE
COPY LINK

BARCELONA

Barça clinch Super Cup on away goals

Barcelona lifted the first silverware of the Spanish season on away goals after a 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid in the second-leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday night.

Barça clinch Super Cup on away goals
Barcelona forward Neymar da Silva Santos (C) vies with Atletico midfielder Mario Suarez (L) during the Spanish Super Cup second leg football match in Barcelona. Photo: Lluis Gene/AFP

Following the 1-1 draw in the first-leg, the Catalans were left to thank goalkeeper Victor Valdes for preserving their advantage as he pulled off incredible saves from Arda Turan and David Villa either side of half-time.

Barça should have then sealed victory on the night themselves as after Filipe Luis was sent off for Atleti, Lionel Messi fired a late penalty off the bar.

"Victor has always had this characteristic which makes a goalkeeper for a big team," Barça boss Gerardo Martino told a press conference afterwards.

"They had two shots on goal and he made the saves."

Martino had handed a first start to Neymar as the Brazilian and Lionel Messi lined up for the first time in a competitive match since the former's switch from Santos.

And he admitted that the South American duo have plenty to work on as a partnership.

"Separately they have played quite well. It is true that they didn't combine a lot and they didn't find each other.

"Neymar was a bit closed off on the wing and when Leo came deep he drifted to the other side. Sometimes they were too far apart to combine but they will manage to do so with time."

Having weathered an early Barça early storm though, Atleti started to gain a foothold and had the two best openings of the opening period.

Firstly Koke failed to connect properly when he was teed up at the edge of the box allowing Valdes to save easily before the Barça keeper made a stunning save to turn behind Arda's sweetly struck volley.

Valdes was called upon again after the break as he parried Villa's curling effort from the edge of the area as Atleti went in search of the away goal they needed to stay alive in the tie.

And Atleti boss Diego Simeone was left to rue his side's wasted opportunities.

"The match was how I imagined it on both sides," he said.    

"They played as they have for many years and we continue to grow, with pride and knowing we can play.

"We had more chances but we couldn't take them."    

The more the visitors pushed forward though, the more they were susceptible to the Barça counter-attack and the Catalans passed up a host of opportunities to put the tie to bed.

Neymar was the biggest culprit as he squared when he ought to have gone for goal himself at the back post from Dani Alves' cross midway through the second-half.

Atleti were then reduced to 10 men when Luis saw a straight red card after he clashed with Alves off the ball on 80 minutes.

And Simeone's men were further infuriated by referee David Fernandez Borbalan when he adjudged that Pedro had been felled by a combination of Juanfran and Miranda two minutes from time.

Messi smashed the resultant spot-kick off the bar to ensure the game finished goalless.

However, it mattered little as the hosts comfortably saw out the final few minutes to claim their fourth Super Cup in the past five years.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

ENVIRONMENT

Why has the expansion of Barcelona airport prompted mass protests?

Around 10,000 people demonstrated against the expansion of the El Prat airport in Barcelona on Sunday.

Why has the expansion of Barcelona airport prompted mass protests?
People march during a demonstration against the expansion of the Barcelona-El Prat airport. Photo: Pau BARRENA / AFP

Several ecological and agricultural organisations, have demanded that the expansion be stopped due to the fact nearby wetlands and farms would have to be destroyed.

The demonstration took place on Calle Tarragona in the Catalan capital between Plaça d’Espanya and Plaça dels Països Catalans.

The protests still took place, even though last week, Spain suspended the €1.7 billion airport expansion project, citing differences with the Catalan government, after president Pere Aragonès said he wanted to avoid destroying La Ricarda lagoon, a natural reserve next to the airport. 

Environmentalists decided not to call off the march, in case plans for the airport expansion still went ahead.

READ ALSO: Six things you need to know about Barcelona airport’s €1.7 billion planned expansion

Political representatives from ERC, En Comú Podem and the CUP also attended, as well as the leader of Más País, Íñigo Errejón; the Deputy Mayor for Ecology of the Barcelona City Council, Janet Sanz, and the Mayor of El Prat de Llobregat, Lluís Mijoler.

People from neighbourhoods across the city marched towards Calle Tarragona and could be seen holding placards that read Nature yes, airport no and shouting slogans such as “More courgettes and fewer planes” and “Fighting for the climate, health, and life”. 

One of the largest groups of people were those from El Prat de Llobregat, the municipality which is home to the airport, who were led by tractors. 

People march during a demonstration against the expansion of Barcelona-El Prat airport. Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP

In addition to protesting against the expansion of the El Prat airport, people were also demonstrating against the Winter Olympic Games in the Pyrenees and extensions to airports in Mallorca and Madrid. 

A representative of Zeroport, Sara Mingorría said “We are here to defend not only La Ricarda, but the entire Delta”. 

The philosopher Marina Garcés also argued that the expansion of the airport would mean “more borders, more mass tourism, more control and more precarious jobs.” 

The leader of the commons in the Catalan parliament, Jéssica Albiach, who also attended the protest, asked the PSOE for “coherence”: “You cannot be passing a law against climate change and, at the same time, defend the interests of Aena [the airport operations company]”, she said. 

She also urged the leader of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, to “definitely say no. 

If the airport expansion in Barcelona goes ahead, environmentalists say that CO2 emissions would rise by a minimum of 33 percent. These levels would surpass the limits set by the Catalan government’s climate targets.

SHOW COMMENTS