Madrid beats Barcelona for 100th time, reaches Cup final

TIL Desk Sports/ Barcelona put on a good fight as an underdog, but in the end it was Real Madrid celebrating again after a thrilling “cl sico” between the Spanish powerhouses in Saudi Arabia.

Federico Valverde scored in extra time to give Real Madrid a 3-2 win over Barcelona on Wednesday for its 100th victory over its storied rival and a spot in the final of the Spanish Super Cup.

Barcelona twice equalized in regular time but couldn’t recover after Valverde scored from close range on a breakaway eight minutes into extra time to give Madrid its fifth straight win over the Catalan club in all competitions.

Defending Super Cup champion Athletic Bilbao will face Spanish league champion Atletico Madrid in the other semifinal Thursday. “We competed well,” Barcelona defender Gerard Piqu said.

“It’s not the result we wanted but we are a step closer to winning. I’m very proud of our team. We have to leave with our heads up after the way we played against a Real Madrid team that is having a very good season.”