Real Madrid rule and Barcelona improve at Saudi Arabia's King Fahd Stadium

Saudi Arabia hosted a great football match between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona. The white team made it through to Sunday's final thanks to the Vinicius-Benzema duo.

The fans present at the King Fahd Stadium enjoyed themselves. The opinion of the fans of the four teams involved (Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid and Athletic de Bilbao) who would have liked to attend the great spectacle that started yesterday with a great football match, is another matter. Let's hope that this day will continue with the other semi-final.

A priori, the team from the Spanish capital was the better team for the semi-final, but a Madrid-Barça match never has favourites. Neither the close record, nor the situation in the La Liga standings counts.

Most predictions gave Barcelona as the underdogs and perhaps that's why today we wake up with a lot of praise for the Culé team that makes you think that the team that will be in the final on Sunday could be Barça.

And it won't be like that. Ancelotti's team controlled the game at all times and Xavi Hernandez's side only stopped Vinicius with fouls, sometimes bordering on red cards. 

The new Azulgrana gem Gavi, a very precocious international, did not appear in attack, but he did appear in defence, needing to incur continuous fouls to stop the white players.

In attack, only Luuk de Jong appeared, but he was substituted at half-time. Despite scoring the first goal from a rebound. Ferran Torres didn't contribute much; but of course, that was to be expected after so much time out of action and never having played with his teammates.  

Dembélé was a great stiletto in the Barcelona attack, a headache for the Real Madrid defence.

The other De Jong, Frankie, still doesn't appear in important games and if he continues in this vein, Nico, Gavi or Pedri will eat him up. Just like Busquets, who made a serious mistake in the first goal.

The defence conceded three goals and could have conceded another three. Jordi Alba was the best, Piqué and Araújo are not at a level to control a Vinicius and Benzema who were at their best. Dani Alves was a veteran with his hands and feet. He was substituted before leaving the team with ten men. And Ter Stegen is well below the level of a few years ago.

Even so, with the introduction of Pedri, Ansu Fati and Depay, Barça improved a lot. However, after drawing level at two, they relaxed a little too much. Ez Abde has given up the Africa Cup to settle in Barça and is unlikely to get any playing time once Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres and Depay are back. And with Dembélé and Jutglá scoring goals. At best he will be the fifth striker.

It would have been good for the Moroccan player to gain experience to play in a high level trophy and Morocco could have benefited from his overflow and his audacity when attacking.

For their part, the Madrid team started the match well, overcoming the Blue and Whites' pressure with an imperial Modric who provoked continuous cheers from the Saudi crowd.

Up front, the Vini-Benzema duo were still in splendid form and the Brazilian looked a different man in front of goal.

Once the scoreboard opened, Madrid relaxed and the Culé team took control of the situation with several chances. Ancelotti's defence without Alaba is not as consistent. Not because of Nacho, who performed as usual with flying colours, but the calmness, security and ball control that the Austrian brings was missing yesterday.

Carvajal lacked pace and in the second half it was noticeable. Perhaps it would have been better to start with Lucas and give him minutes at the end of the game. Militao and Mendy relaxed again and there was Ansu Fati, who did not miss and scored the 2-2. He also came close to equalising in extra time with a bicycle kick. If he does not get injured, he will undoubtedly be the best player in attack.

Ancelotti still doesn't have much confidence in his bench and only Valverde, Lucas and Rodrygo gave freshness to the team. It seems that Hazard and Isco played everything they had to play at Real Madrid. They count for nothing for the Italian coach. And not for lack of opportunities. 

Valverde, who provided consistency on the right flank and a goal from a superb counter-attacking move, does count as player number thirteen.

The white engine room with Kroos, Casemiro and Modric worked for most of the game, although there were stretches in which the Culés imposed themselves, albeit without great chances. Courtois did not need to make any great saves.

All in all, a great game of football, with pace, speed and alternatives for both teams. It was decided in extra time by the Vinicius-Benzema duo.