CNN — İlkay Gündoğan scored a stoppage time penalty to secure Barcelona a 2-1 win against Las Palmas in La Liga on Thursday.
Las Palmas had taken an early lead in the match after former Barça player Munir El Haddadi finished off a flowing move for the underdogs in the 12th minute of the match.
Ferran Torres then equalized for the visitors in the 55th minute, before Gündoğan was handed the chance to win all three points.
The midfielder was adjudged to have been pushed in the back by Daley Sinkgraven, who received a red card for the foul.
Gündoğan calmly slotted his penalty past Álvaro Valles in goal to hand the Blaugrana a vital three points in the league.
As Atlético threw everybody forward in search of an equalizer in stoppage time, Los Blancos cleared a corner kick and Brahim Díaz sprinted past Atleti goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who had come up for the corner, to steal the ball and finish into an empty net from distance.
“The team never gives up,” Carlo Ancelotti told reporters after the game, per Real. “It is the DNA of Real Madrid and a good learning experience for young players: we could lose today, but never give up.
“The team is very pleased and we have to be calm because it was a game with a lot of emotions. There are 90 minutes left to win the title and that is the objective.
“I have a lot of confidence in the squad because those who have come on from the bench also give confidence,” the Italian added. “The whole squad is very motivated and engaged. That’s the only way to win these types of games.”
The Spanish Super Cup, previously contested in a single final, became a four-team tournament in 2019 and was moved to Saudi Arabia.
Las Palmas were left furious by the decision to award Barça the penalty, with midfielder Kirian Rodríguez questioning the referee after the game.
But Barcelona manager Xavi said he thought it was the right decision.
“There is always tension. There are nerves, everyone wants to win. If you talk to me about the penalty, it seems clear to me,” Xavi said, according to Reuters.
“We won at the last moment with a penalty. I understand Kirian [Rodríguez], but it’s a push and it’s a penalty.”
It was an ill-tempered encounter, with seven yellow cards being shown in addition to Sinkgraven’s red.
The win, though, sends Barcelona third in La Liga as it continues its bid to chase down Real Madrid and Girona who both sit seven points ahead at the halfway point of the league title race.
“We did a lot of things well; other things that the team needs to improve in and that depends a lot on our work.
“I think we competed well, they [Real] know that we know how to compete and, hopefully, we can improve in the aspects we need to improve in [before Thursday’s match].”
Real Madrid will now face either Barcelona or Osasuna in Sunday’s final.
