Xabi Alonso led with restraint rather than celebration after Real Madrid edged past Atletico Madrid to reach the Spanish Super Cup final, using his post-match remarks to condemn what he described as unacceptable behaviour towards Vinicius Jr during a fractious semi-final in Jeddah.
Real’s 2-1 victory over their city rivals on Wednesday night set up another El Clasico showdown with Barcelona on Sunday, but the focus quickly shifted from the football to an exchange between Atletico head coach Diego Simeone and Vinicius following the Brazilian’s substitution late in the match.
According to Spanish publication AS, TV channel Movistar Plus showed footage of the Argentine goading Vinicius during the first half.
He is reported to have said: ‘Florentino [Perez, the Real Madrid president] is going to kick you out. Remember where you heard it first."
Later on, Simeone managed to get Vinicius' attention again, but this time, he asked the Brazilian to listen to the crowd who were booing him.
Words were again exchanged when the Brazilian was substituted in the second half, with both benches involved in angry exchanges while Vinicius was led away by teammates.
Asked about the incident, Alonso made clear his displeasure at the Argentine approaching his player, though he left out details of what was said in the exchange.
“First of all, I try to be respectful to the opposing team’s players and I don’t usually speak to them,” Alonso said.
“When I read and heard what he said to him, I liked it even less. What he said wasn’t a good example of sportsmanship, and for me, not everything is acceptable. You have to respect your opponent, and everything that happens on the field has its limits.”
The comments came after a hard-fought Madrid derby in which Real struck early and managed the contest with the composure Alonso has come to value highly in knockout football. Federico Valverde’s fierce free-kick after just two minutes handed Real an immediate advantage and shaped the rhythm of the semi-final.
“It was a very hard-fought match,” Alonso said. "Fede’s early goal gave us the advantage and changed everything a bit because now we have something to defend. In the first half, we hardly suffered, and there were moments for everything. It was a semi-final, and this team knows how to play semi-finals and how to compete. The objective was to reach the final.”
Real doubled their lead early in the second half when Rodrygo finished calmly to cap a slick move, leaving Atletico with a mountain to climb. Alexander Sorloth pulled a goal back soon after, injecting fresh tension into the contest, but Atletico were unable to find an equaliser despite pushing forward in the closing stages.
The result ensures another high-profile final in Saudi Arabia, after Barcelona swept aside Athletic Bilbao 5-0 in the other semi-final. For Real, the win maintained their strong recent record in decisive matches and underlined their ability to control games even when momentum threatens to swing away from them.
Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain claimed the Trophee des Champions after a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Marseille in Kuwait.
Ousmane Dembele gave PSG an early lead, but Mason Greenwood’s second-half penalty brought Marseille level before Hamed Traore’s cross was turned into his own net by Willian Pacho late on. Goncalo Ramos rescued PSG deep into stoppage time, forcing penalties, where goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier saved Marseille’s first two spot-kicks in a 4-1 shoot-out win.
