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Barcelona booked their place in the Supercopa de Espana final with a 2-0 win against Osasuna tonight (January 11).
The Catalan giants were extremely disappointing in the first half. Robert Lewandowski has received criticism for his lack of goals as of late and he did himself no favors in the 12th minute.
Lewandowski was offered a good opportunity at goal but tamely placed his shot at Osasuna's Spanish goalkeeper Sergio Herrera. The Pole also missed a header when he met Ilkay Gundogan's corner in the 30th minute.
Jagoba Arrasate's men had their chances, with Croatian striker Ante Budimir and former Barca winger José Arnaiz having sights at goal. They will have been quite happy with their first-half performance while the Blaugrana lacked attacking intent.
Barcelona showed vast improvement in the second half and they took the lead in the 58th minute. Ilkay Gundogan found Lewandowski with an eye-of-the-needle pass and the Pole showed composure before firing in the Catalan giants' opener.
Joao Felix was close to extending Barca's lead in the 67th minute when he raced down the right flank. The Portuguese attacker curled a fine effort towards goal that Herrera did well to turn away.
Osasuna were still a threat on the counter and Budimir was their brightest spark. The Croat tested the gloves of Barcelona goalkeeper Inaki Pena in the 77th minute after a fine run on the right wing.
Lamine Yamal added a second and put Barca in the Supercopa de Espana final in the 90+2nd minute. Felix weaved his way toward Osasuna's box with a nutmeg along the way before finding his 16-year-old teammate who fired home.
One fan was full of praise for Lewandowski who put a miserable recent period behind him, hailing the Pole as:
"Lewandowski is the greatest striker of all time."
Another fan mocked Real Madrid who Barca will face in the final:
"Vardrid are shaking."
Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to Barcelona's win against Osasuna:
Xavi wanted Barcelona to try and emulate Real Madrid's win against Atletico Madrid
Barca will face Real Madrid in the final of the Supercopa de Espana. Los Blancos sealed their place in the showcase with an impressive 5-3 win against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday (January 10).
That tie went to extra-time after the Madrid rivals finished level at 3-3 during regulation time. Joselu (116') and Brahim Diaz (120+2') ensured Carlo Ancelotti's men would be in the final on Sunday (January 14).
Xavi watched the Madrid derby and wanted Barcelona to try and follow in their arch-rivals' footsteps in tonight's game. He said (via BarcaUniversal):
“It was a great match. They played a good match and today we hope to put on a good show also.”
Barca got the job done, albeit somewhat unconvincingly and will face Ancelotti's Los Merengues at Al-Awwal Stadium. They beat their El Clasico rivals 3-1 in last season's Supercopa de Espana final.
