Real Madrid reached the final of the Spanish Super Cup by defeating Valencia 4-3 on penalties after the end of the regular and extra time with a 1-1 draw, at King Fahd Stadium in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The Royal Club took the lead from a penalty kick by Frenchman Karim Benzema (39) and Brazilian Samuel Lino equalized seconds after the start of the second half (46).
The royal players succeeded in all four shots in the penalty shootout, while Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who was chosen as the man of the match, saved the fifth kick after Valencia wasted the second attempt as well.
The Royal Club will play in the final on Sunday against Barcelona or Real Betis, who will meet on Thursday in the second semi-final.
This is the third time that Real Madrid has reached the final in four years since the system turned into a mini-tournament in 2019, and it was crowned in the first edition and last year.
Real Madrid entered the match after falling against Villarreal in the league on Saturday, which caused it to lose the joint lead with Barcelona, who won Sunday against Atletico Madrid.
And Benzema got a penalty kick when Brazilian Eder Militao lifted a wonderful long ball from behind the defenders, the French tamed it before the Swiss Iray Comert blocked him. He successfully rushed to it and sent the goalkeeper in the opposite direction (39).
Valencia equalized with the start of the second half when Tony Lato raised a long cross from the right side towards the second post, and Leno managed to evade defensive control from Lucas Vasquez and continued the ball on the bird low with his right into the net (46).