Real Madrid won the Spanish Supercopa for the 2021-2022 season after defeating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at King Fahd International Stadium on Sunday (January 16). Real Madrid have won the Supercopa championship for the second time in three years. Madrid controlled the championship match as expected, and two of its experienced players, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema rose to the occasion and scored in the crucial final match. The match report of the Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao final is discussed in this article.
Spanish Supercopa 2022 Final Match Report: Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao
Real Madrid became champions of the Supercopa 2022 with a clear victory against Athletic Bilbao in the championship match staged in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh. Understandably, Real Madrid had the most local fans in the stadium, and they did not disappoint them. Los Blancos controlled the game from start to finish, winning their 12th Supercopa title.
Real Madrid's experienced midfielders Toni Kroos and Luka Modric had dominated the midfield. Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and French attacker Karim Benzema terrified the Bilbao defense with a 4-3-3 formation. On the other hand, Athletic Bilbao had implemented a 4-4-2 system to mitigate the attacking threat provided by Real Madrid. Bilbao's defenders' resistance came to an end when Luka Modric gave Real Madrid the lead in the 38th minute.
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Rodrygo made a fantastic move down the right flank, trying to overtake between three Bilbao players before passing to Modric, who produced a stunning shot from the edge of the D-Box area into the top right corner of the net. The goalkeeper had no chance of preventing the ball from reaching the goal.
Real Madrid had taken the lead at the end of the first half. Madrid continued to dominate the game in the second half, earning a penalty inside the first six minutes of the session. After Benzema's strike struck an opponent's hand inside the D-Box, the VAR awarded Real Madrid a penalty. Karim Benzema stepped up and extended the lead to 2-0 within the 52nd minute of the game.
Athletic Bilbao's players tried all they could in the last minutes of the game to make a comeback, but Real Madrid were simply too strong. Real Madrid captain Marcelo received the team's first trophy of the year 2022 at the post-match presentation event in Riyadh.
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Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao Match Stats: Supercopa 2022 Final
The winner of the final Real Madrid controlled the ball possessions throughout the game. According to the match statistics, the Los Blancos had 58 percent ball possession, while the Los Leones had 42 percent.
Athletic Bilbao executed 449 passes, while Real Madrid completed 619. The passing accuracy of both sides was very comparable. Athletic Bilbao had an 88 percent passing accuracy, whereas Real Madrid had a 90 percent distributing accuracy.
Athletic Bilbao had ten fouls, while Real Madrid had seven. Athletic Bilbao earned two yellow cards in the encounter, while Real Madrid received none.
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Way Forward
Real Madrid were the best of the four teams that competed in the Spanish Supercopa de Espana during the 2021-2022 season. They had dominated FC Barcelona in the semifinals and advanced to the final by defeating their arch-rivals 3-2. They were much better in the final match against Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid will be the favorite against PSG in the Champions League Round of 16 based on their current form. On the other side, Athletic Bilbao were the reigning champions, but they lost the final after failing to come up with a strategy to contain Real Madrid's attack. Bilbao are now in 9th place in La Liga for the 2022-2023 season, and they will be aiming to finish in the top four at the end of the season.