Barcelona defeat Athletic without Olmo to reach Spanish Super Cup final

Barcelona scope the last of the Spanish Super Cup with a 2-0 triumph against Athletic Bilbao successful Saudi Arabia.

Young starlets Gavi and Lamine Yamal fired Barcelona, without Dani Olmo aft his licence to play was revoked, into the Spanish Super Cup last with a 2-0 triumph against Athletic Bilbao.

Spanish playmaker Olmo was cleared to play again connected a impermanent ground earlier the crippled connected Wednesday, but the determination came excessively precocious for him oregon Pau Victor, successful the aforesaid position, to diagnostic against Copa del Rey winners Athletic.

Gavi enactment Barcelona up from adjacent scope aft 17 minutes and teenage winger Yamal netted the 2nd aboriginal aft the break.

Spanish and European champions Real Madrid look cupful runners-up Mallorca connected Thursday successful the 2nd semifinal.

“We don’t attraction [who we look successful the final]. It volition beryllium hard and we privation to triumph it, which is the important thing, and spell backmost location with the trophy,” Yamal told Movistar aft the game.

Barcelona’s Gavi forces location the opening extremity [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]

Barcelona, who qualified arsenic LaLiga runners-up, started brightly and Raphinha volleyed implicit from a good Jules Kounde transverse and forced Unai Simon into a bully prevention with a free-kick.

It was nary astonishment erstwhile the Catalans broke the deadlock with Alejandro Balde cutting the shot backmost for Gavi, playing successful Olmo’s attacking midfield role, to crook home.

The 20-year-old pointed astatine an imaginary ticker successful his celebration, a motion to Olmo, who regularly produces the aforesaid motion aft scoring.

At the different end, Inaki Williams dallied connected the shot excessively agelong arsenic Athletic’s champion attacking determination of the archetypal fractional broke down.

Yamal, 17, should person added Barcelona’s 2nd aft Raphinha’s changeable was saved but miscued an attempted lob.

Wojciech Szczesny, connected his 2nd commencement successful extremity for Barcelona, made a bully prevention to support Inaki Williams astatine bay earlier the break.

Barcelona doubled their pb aboriginal successful the 2nd fractional erstwhile Gavi slipped successful Yamal who finished with aplomb.

“Athletic are a precise carnal squad that marque you tally a lot. We suffered supra each towards the end, but we were capable to play well, and we’re precise happy,” Yamal added.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring their 2nd extremity [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]

Veteran Polish guardant Robert Lewandowski spurned a good accidental to adhd the third, firing off-target erstwhile well-placed.

Athletic manager Ernesto Valverde, who was sacked arsenic Barcelona brag aft a decision astatine the aforesaid stadium successful 2020, brought connected Nico Williams to effort and crook the crippled around.

The Spain international, heavy linked with Barcelona successful the summer, was not acceptable capable to start, but made a affirmative interaction from the bench.

The winger acceptable up Oscar de Marcos to strike, but the Athletic defender had strayed conscionable offside and the extremity was ruled out.

Inaki Williams besides had a extremity ruled retired for offside aft Frenkie de Jong’s mediocre back-pass took a flimsy deflection disconnected Alvaro Djalo connected its mode to the Ghana international.

Barcelona secured their triumph and await their opponents successful Sunday’s final, successful which Olmo volition beryllium allowed to feature.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies