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Real Madrid inflicted a fifth-straight defeat on Barcelona in El Clasico by beating them 3-2 in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday evening (stream a replay on ESPN+ in the U.S.).
The two sides produced an extended five-goal spectacle in Saudi Arabia that was eventually settled by a Federico Valverde winner, scored in the eighth minute of extra time. But it was a couple of goal celebrations that caught the eye most.
It was Carlo Ancelotti’s side that scored first in Riyadh, with in-form Vinicius Jr. sprinting clear of the Barca back line to thrash a powerful finish past Marc-Andre ter Stegen to open the scoring with his 15th goal of the season.
The Brazilian then marked his strike with a cheeky piece of choreography.
Luuk de Jong levelled things for Barca shortly thereafter with his third goal in three games, before a Karim Benzema tap-in midway through the second half shunted Real back into the lead with 72 minutes played.
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Then, things started to get really interesting.
The advantage lasted less than 10 minutes as substitute Ansu Fati rose in the penalty area to head home Jordi Alba‘s sweeping cross and thus steer home a second equaliser for the Catalans.
Having only just returned from injury, the young winger rushed away to celebrate and amid the excitement began to hit the Cristiano Ronaldo trademark “SIUUUU!” celebration before seeming to remember which side he was on (and the fact he was wearing Lionel Messi‘s No. 10 shirt) halfway through his leap and pulling out.
Did Ansu Fati hit the SIUUUU? 👀 pic.twitter.com/sSRfnMhj1P
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 12, 2022
With the regulation 90 minutes played and the scoreline level at 2-2, extra-time was ushered in. It didn’t take Real long to break the deadlock once again as midfielder Valverde latched onto a Rodrygo cross to pass the ball into the back of Ter Stegen’s net.
Then, much like Ansu’s botched celebration, the Uruguay international attempted to goad Barca fans by mimicking Messi’s famous “shirt aloft” Clasico celeb from 2017.
Alas, some unfortunate billowing of Valverde’s shirt saw it fail to fully unfurl which rather gave him the look of a man trying to get dressed in the dark.
Valverde did it 😅 pic.twitter.com/BZF1y984qT
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 12, 2022
Thankfully, the Madrid fans who had travelled to Saudi Arabia were on hand to pick up the slack, greeting Valverde’s winning goal with a giant “”SIUUUU!” of their very own from the stands.
Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t at Real Madrid anymore, but the entire stadium made sure to scream ‘SIUUUUU’ after Valverde’s winner 😂 pic.twitter.com/eHPhcZLKdu
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 12, 2022
The impact of Ronaldo and Messi on Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively is clearly still going strong. And long may it continue.