With the stadium known as the ‘Jewel’ in fine voice, Real Madrid were more aggressive in the early stages, as Vinicius Junior fired straight at Joan Garcia when well placed.
Barcelona duly reverted to their signature passing game, and a frustrated Alvaro Carreras was lucky to stay on the pitch after a studs-up challenge on Lamine Yamal.
Barcelona’s own Brazilian menace Raphinha was the liveliest amongst the Catalans, hitting a shot straight at Thibaut Courtois before firing wide at the end of a wonderful move and final pass from Lamine.
Los Blancos failed to heed that let-off, though, and Raphinha made amends by sliding the ball past a despairing Courtois in the next attack.
Real duly stepped up a gear, and soon equalised against the run of play, when a fantastic piece of individual skill from Vinicius saw him grab the equaliser in time added on.
Yet, there was still time for Robert Lewandowski to beat the offside trap and lift the ball over Courtois for Barca’s second, and for Real’s Gonzalo Garcia to equalise when falling backwards after a scramble from a corner.
Real Madrid were much more purposeful at the start of the second half, and only a smart save from Garcia stopped Vinícius from giving his side the lead.
Raphinha’s clipped free-kick then sailed over, before an intensely combative period saw a flurry of free-kicks and yellow cards. Substitutions from both sides with 20’ to play was an indication that both managers were looking for something extra in the final stages.
A stunning point-blank stop from Courtois kept the scores level, as Barça sought to impose themselves once more, though he could do nothing as Raphinha’s weak right-foot shot took a wicked deflection from Raul Asencio to put the Catalans ahead for a third time.
The match swung from end to end as Real searched for an equaliser, but even with Barcelona losing Frenkie de Jong after a challenge on Kylian Mbappe, nothing was going to stop the Catalans from retaining the trophy for the first time since 2011.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Raphinha (Barcelona)
