Barcelona beats Real Madrid again to win Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia clasico
Jeddah (AP): Raphinha scored twice as Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup played in Saudi Arabia.
Raphinha's 73rd-minute winner came in a fortuitous manner after he slipped while shooting and the shot deflected off Madrid defender Raúl Asencio to fool goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The clasico final featured a hectic end to the first half when three stoppage-time goals were scored before the break, two by Real Madrid and one by Barcelona. Barcelona beat Madrid 5-2 in last year's final, when Raphinha also scored twice.
“We gave all we had,” Raphinha said. “I was emotional at the end of the match, we needed a win like this."
It was the 16th Super Cup title for Barcelona, more than any other club. Madrid is second with 13 titles.
Kylian Mbappé, who had missed the semifinals of the mini-Super Cup tournament because of a knee issue, entered the match in the 76th but couldn't do enough to help Madrid equalize. The France forward missed Madrid's win over Atletico Madrid in the semifinals on Thursday but then traveled from Spain to Saudi Arabia to be available for the final of the mini-tournament.
Robert Lewandowski also scored for Barcelona. Madrid's goals were scored by Vinícius Júnior and Gonzalo García.
The trophy was lifted by Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, who had been out since November because of private reasons. Spanish media reports said he was on a mental health break.
The Catalan club opened the scoring in Jeddah on Sunday with Raphinha in a breakaway in the 36th. Madrid equalized with a superb goal from Vinícius two minutes into first-half added time, with the Brazil forward capping a nice run by splitting a couple of defenders before scoring from inside the area.
Vinícius hadn't scored in 16 matches with Madrid, since October.
Lewandowski put Barcelona back ahead two minutes after Vinícius' goal, and García evened the game again three minutes later at the end of the first half.
Madrid had two golden chances to equalize again in added time but couldn't capitalize on them.
“We have to turn the page as soon as possible,” Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said. "It's just one game, one competition, and it's the least important one we have. We have to look ahead, try to get everyone back together, recover our morale, and move on.”
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong was sent off in second-half stoppage time.
Barcelona reached the Super Cup final by routing Athletic Bilbao 5-0, while Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1.
Barcelona is the first league champion in eight seasons to win the Super Cup, and the first team to retain the trophy since Pep Guardiola's team won three in a row in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
New venue for 2027
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The president of the Spanish soccer federation, Rafael Louzán, said Sunday that the final of next year's edition will be played either in Qatar or Kuwait because Saudi Arabia will be hosting the Asian Cup.
The final will return to Saudi Arabia in 2028 and will be played there until at least through 2030.
Spanish league results
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The teams not involved in the Spanish Super Cup played a regular round of La Liga matches as the domestic competition reached its midway point.
In Sunday's games, fifth-place Espanyol drew 1-1 at second-to-last Levante, while midtable Rayo Vallecano defeated Mallorca 2-1 at home.
Barcelona leads the league, sitting four points ahead of Madrid after 19 rounds.
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Gurugram CA held for slitting pregnant wife's throat with scissors
Jhajjar (PTI): A chartered accountant has been arrested for allegedly killing his pregnant wife by slitting her throat with a pair of scissors and trying to pass it off as a robbery attempt, police said on Wednesday.
According to police, Anshul Dhawan (31) got married to Mehak (27) in September last year. Both worked in Gurugram.
Police received a call on Sunday night reporting that some unidentified people tried to rob Anshul, took his car and kidnapped his wife, SHO Badli, Inspector Suresh said.
When police reached the spot, they found the woman's body near a dry canal with injury marks on her neck, he said.
Suspecting inconsistencies in Anshul's version of events, police took him into custody for interrogation. He confessed that he had killed Mehak with a pair of scissors, wearing gloves, over suspicions about her character, SHO said.
"During his questioning, it came to light that he had pre-planned the murder. His wife worked in a private bank in Gurugram. He had doubts that she talked to her friends, and he did not like it," SHO added. Following the confession, Anshul was arrested on Monday.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police said.
Mehak's sister, Shruti, told the reporters that the family had doubts that Anshul was involved in the murder. She said, "We want justice; the killer should be hanged. He did not even think that his wife was two months pregnant."
She said on February 15, Anshul came to their house and stayed only for ten minutes and left with Mehal for Gurugram.
Shruti alleged that Anshul had pre-planned the murder.
