When Real Madrid and Barcelona face off in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday, it will mark the start of a new Clasico between the two teams.
This match will take place at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and will mark the 16th encounter between the two teams in this league.
As a result, the Spanish Super Cup in 2022–2023 will feature a Clasico for the ninth time.
In how many Spanish Super Cup matches have Real Madrid and Barcelona battled off?
In the previous eight iterations of the Spanish Super Cup, Los Merengues and Los Cules faced off seven times in the two-legged format and once in the final-four format.
Real Madrid has crushed their opponents in those eight games, triumphing seven times and losing only one, in 2012.
Spanish Super Cup Clasicos’ history
At the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-0 in the first Clasico, which was played in a Super Cup in 1988.
Real Madrid won the championship as Barcelona overcame Emilio Butragueno’s goal in the second leg at Camp Nou, winning 2-1 on the night but losing 3-2 overall.
The two teams played each other again in the competition in 1990, and this time Los Merengues won by an even bigger margin, 4-1 in Madrid following a 1-0 victory in Barcelona in the first leg.
Three years later, another Clasico was played, with Los Blancos winning the match 3-1 at the Bernabeu and then drawing 1-1 at Camp Nou for an overall score of 4-2 in their favor.
When Real Madrid and Barcelona faced off in the 1997 season opener, the Catalan team had the upper hand thanks to a 2-1 victory in the first leg. However, Real Madrid came out on top 4-1 in Madrid.
With three goals from Lionel Messi over the course of two legs in 2012—the first in a 2-2 tie at the Bernabeu and the second in a 3-2 victory for the Catalans at Camp Nou—Barcelona eventually managed to defeat Real Madrid.
After Barcelona won 3-2 in Catalonia and Real Madrid won 2-1 in the capital, the final score was 4-4, but Real Madrid had won thanks to the double value of goals scored away from home.
The final home-and-away round, sans semi-finals, was played in 2018; it was also the final round to be hosted on Spanish soil.
Real Madrid won that competition with a 5-1 overall victory after winning both legs, 3-1 at Camp Nou and 2-0 at the Bernabeu.
The most recent Saudi Arabian Clasico
On Saudi Arabian land in January of last year, the semifinal matchup between Los Cules and Los Merengues took place.
Instead of being the final as it will be this year and has been for all prior meetings, the game was a semifinal.
After 90 minutes of play ended in a 2-2 tie, there was extra time. Real Madrid won 3-2 and went on to win the championship.
