RIYADH: Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved twice from the spot to help Barcelona beat Real Betis 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw on Thursday, setting up a Clasico Spanish Super Cup final.
The Catalans will face their bitter rivals Real Madrid on Sunday after Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat Valencia on penalties on Wednesday.
Barcelona needed spot-kicks to see off Betis after an entertaining draw over 120 minutes at Riyadh’s King Fahd Stadium.
Robert Lewandowski put Barcelona ahead after 40 minutes but Betis playmaker Nabil Fekir levelled with 13 minutes remaining.
Ansu Fati smashed in a fine volley to put Barcelona ahead in extra-time but Loren Moron pulled Betis back level with a cunning backheel flick.
Ter Stegen denied Juanmi and William Carvalho in the shootout and Pedri converted the decisive spot-kick.
“(The final) will be a very nice game, everyone wants to see these type of games and we’ll be delighted to play it and win it,” Ter Stegen told Movistar.
The goalkeeper made some fine saves even before the shootout, where he was key.
“I would like to have less work in games,” Ter Stegen added, acknowledging that he was back to his best.
“For a year I’ve been at a very good level personally, physically, it’s the work too — every day I have a spectacular team that helps me improve and think about how to get better.”
Barcelona have not won the Spanish Super Cup since the change to a four-team format, with the first Saudi Arabia edition taking place in 2020.
After finishing last season without a single trophy and investing heavily in the summer despite the club’s debts, Xavi and his team are desperate for silverware.
Although winning the Super Cup will not be enough in itself, it would be a step in the right direction and Xavi’s first trophy since arriving in November 2021.
Pedri had an early strike disallowed for offside as the Catalans started well, but Betis soon found their comfort zone, inspired by the artistry of Fekir and dynamism of Luiz Henrique.
However, Lewandowski, who missed the win over Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday through suspension and was far from his best, broke the deadlock shortly before the break.
The Polish forward’s first effort was blocked but he brought the ball under control again and managed to beat Claudio Bravo at the near post.Ter Stegen made saves from Rodri and Henrique to keep Barcelona ahead, on a busy night for the German goalkeeper — just as it had been for his Madrid counterpart Thibaut Courtois the night before.
Fekir eventually levelled in the 77th minute after clever footwork from Henrique, who set him up, and the French midfielder drilled past Ter Stegen at his near post to force extra-time.
Three minutes into the additional period, Fati produced a piece of magic to put Barcelona back in front with a volley from the edge of the box.
It didn’t last long, with Betis striking through Moron’s clever effort, backheeled past Ter Stegen despite close attention from Ronald Araujo.
Fati tried to reply with a backheel of his own but former Barcelona stopper Bravo was alert to deny him.
Veteran Betis midfielder Andres Guardardo was sent off late in extra-time for two yellow cards, but Barcelona did not have long enough to capitalize before penalties.
Both sides converted their first two spot-kicks but Ter Stegen denied Juanmi to hand the Catalans the advantage.
Fati scored and Ter Stegen produced another save to foil Carvalho, with Pedri converting the next spot-kick to seal Barcelona’s progress.
“Betis fans should be proud of the team’s performance,” said defender Miranda, playing in the stead of Alex Moreno, who signed for Aston Villa this week.
“We are, with the fight that we showed. We have a lot to learn and I hope we can be here again many more times.”
Barca beat Betis on penalties, reach Clasico Super Cup final
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Barca beat Betis on penalties, reach Clasico Super Cup final
- The Catalans will face their bitter rivals Real Madrid on Sunday after Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat Valencia on penalties on Wednesday
Iva Jovic hopes to channel Novak Djokovic on Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships debut
- American teen sensation looking to build on strong start to 2026 season
DUBAI: Things have been developing fast for American teenager Iva Jovic.
This time last year, she was ranked 167 in the world and had just lost in the opening round of a Challenger in Cancun.
Today, she is perched nicely at a career-high No. 20 in the world rankings, with a WTA title under her belt (in Guadalajara last year) and an Australian Open quarterfinal appearance last month.
At 18, the Californian became the youngest American woman to reach the last-eight stage at Melbourne Park since Venus Williams in 1998.
Having started 2026 with an impressive 11-3 win-loss record (semis in Auckland, final in Hobart, quarters at the Australian Open), Jovic withdrew from the WTA tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha to take some much-needed time off and is now in the UAE ready to make her debut at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
We caught up with Jovic on Saturday ahead of her Dubai opener against former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari.
What does it mean for you to be coming to these tournaments now that you probably were watching in the past coming to this part of the world?
I mean, it’s so special. Obviously, it’s one thing to kind of play your first WTA events and get the feel for it, but it’s a different one to be in the tournaments every week and have your ranking at a place where you can play the full calendar. So that was the goal for me, and it’s pretty incredible to have had it all as it is now and to just be here.
Obviously, I want to win every match I play. I hate to lose. But I also try to remember that just being here is an incredible accomplishment and privilege. But Dubai has been so fun. I went to the mall yesterday. I went to the top of the Burj Khalifa. So I’ve already got to do a couple of things.
The culture and everything is very cool here. It’s my first time in this part of the world, so it’s very cool to see all these new things. I feel like I’m learning a lot, so much more to come.
I know you had to pull out of the last couple of tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha. I’m just wondering, post-Australia, what came into that decision?
Yeah, I think I just needed a little bit more time. I think I played the most matches out of anyone in the Australian swing. It was a lot, and I’m really happy with how it went. It was a great experience, and I won a lot, right? So that’s what you want. But I also needed to rest and train a little bit to just take care of my body. And now I’m feeling good and ready to go to be here in Dubai.
With Australia, now that you’ve had a little bit of time and space since then, what was the biggest takeaways from that? And did any of it take you by surprise?
I like to think that it’s surprising but not surprising, because obviously having great results and maybe some wins weren’t expected, but I also know how hard I’ve worked, and that good things tend to come when you put in the right work. So, surprised, but also not that surprised. Again, I think it’s one thing to have a couple of those good results, but for me the most important thing is consistency. So I want to establish myself as a player who’s going deep every single week.
You’ve got Maria Sakkari in your first round. She just made the semis in Doha. How do you look ahead to that match?
That’s definitely going to be a tough one. So thank you, Alex (Eala) for giving me a tough match. She pulled my name out (during the draw), but that’s okay. I’ll forgive her. But no, that’ll be a difficult one. Maria is a fighter. I played her in doubles, first meeting in singles. I mean I’m so new on the tour, still. I haven’t played a lot of these women. But she’s a competitor. She’s been around for a while and obviously making semis last week. She’s in top form. But, you know, again, you love the battle and you want the tough matches. So hopefully I can pull through.
You got to play the world number one in a Grand Slam quarterfinal. Didn’t go your way, but I’m wondering what did you take from that experience?
Yeah, I think that obviously you want to play the best just to win, yes, but even if you don’t, to just see where you stand. I think I’ve done a good job so far of learning from every loss, and I think that’s all it is. You learn from it, and it’s just fine margins. The differences aren’t that big.
It’s just little details that you need to work on that I’ve already been working on the past couple weeks, so hopefully that can show.
I know Novak Djokovic has been sending you tips. You’ve been in contact. He’s won this tournament a bunch of times. Are you going to perhaps be like, give me some tips for this Dubai court?
Oh, my God. Well, I hope … I don’t know if I’m brave enough to do that. I’m still a little nervous when I talk to him. He’s definitely my idol, but yeah, I see him at every corner. I’m like, how many times did this guy win the tournament? I see him on every screen. But just try to be like Novak. I’m going to keep it that simple.
