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Barcelona face Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday after the Basque side beat Real Madrid 2-1 in Thursday’s second semi-final.
Two goals from none other than Raul Garcia secured victory for Marcelino’s men at La Roselada de Malaga, although Karim Benzema pulled one away for Los Blancos.
The victory means there will be no Clasico final and instead Barcelona will face a side they met in La Liga just over a week ago.
Ronald Koeman’s side missed 3-2 winners at San Mames on January 6 with Lionel Messi scoring twice and Pedri also on target.
The game was Marcelino’s first in charge after replacing Gaizka Garitano as the boss of the Basque squad and he admitted he could benefit from the game.
“I take two positive points. Those first 20 minutes and the satisfaction of the team working and trying with the score against them. It tells me the boys want it and the team is going to improve.
“Before the game it went through my mind that I was hoping Messi wasn’t at his top level the day I returned to training, but it was like that. There are times when we could have done a little more to stop him, but he was the most decisive player in the game.
Athletic rebounded well from that loss to see Real Madrid on Thursday. The Basque side, who are yet to play their Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad, last won the trophy in 2015, although that’s probably best forgotten to be honest.
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