Barcelona booked their place in the Spanish Super Cup final on Thursday, Jan. 8, with a dominant 5-0 victory over Athletic Club in Jeddah. The match was effectively over by halftime as Barcelona’s attacking football left Athletic struggling to respond.

Athletic captain Inaki Williams had publicly criticized the decision to hold the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, and his side began the match with energy. After the opening 10 minutes, however, Barcelona quickly gained control, moving the ball with precision and finding gaps in the Athletic defense.

Barcelona’s attacking masterclass

Ferran Torres opened the scoring after Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon had saved an earlier shot from Fermin Lopez. Despite Athletic protests over a possible foul in the build-up, the goal stood and set the tone for the remainder of the match.

Fermin Lopez doubled the lead in the 30th minute with a clean finish following a Raphinha cross. Two minutes later, Lopez assisted Roony Bardghji for Barcelona’s third, leaving Athletic with no answer. Raphinha scored his first of the night in the 38th minute, assisted by Bardghji, before the duo combined again early in the second half to make it 5-0.

Second-half control and focus on the final

Both coaches made multiple substitutions before the hour mark, with Ernesto Valverde rotating five players for Athletic and Hansi Flick bringing on Marcus Rashford, Marc Bernal, Gerard Martin, and Lamine Yamal for Barcelona. The changes had little effect, as Barcelona maintained dominance and Athletic struggled to create chances.

By then, the urgency had disappeared for Athletic, with Unai Gomez missing one of the few clear opportunities for his team. Barcelona, meanwhile, were already focused on Sunday’s final against either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid, who meet in the second semifinal on Thursday. The Catalan side will enter the final confident after a commanding display in Jeddah. [Xinhua]