Courtois' spy videos and Karim Benzema's idyll with the Super Cup

• Chronicle Courtois reigns on penalties and builds an oasis in the Madrid desert

• Opinion The 'Qatar virus' suffered by Madrid does not infect the penalty spot

When

can always be counted on

.

He is the superhero that shows up when all else fails.

He supported a team that played trantran, which gave life to a

disguised as a lamb, capable of giving it a bite but without a fang to tear it apart.

Even so, supportive and supported, he forced the Belgian goalkeeper to be the best player in the semifinal and to review the duties that he had prepared.

Ancelotti confessed that his team does not try penalties, but his goalkeeper does.

The Belgian, who is the best in the world for a reason, not only kept order on the scoreboard during the first 90 minutes, but he also went out of his way to stop the cheeky youth player

in extra time and reviewed his mental notes when he lined up the goal in the penalty shootout.

Half a dozen stopped in 2022, the first against

in the final against Athletic last year.

In the same stadium, in the same goal.

"We don't train the batches, but I do watch a lot of videos. I knew that

had shot to the right the last few and that

missed one against

that he threw to the left and that he scored in the Cup final against

through the center. That's why I jumped to the right but not hard in case I went through the center. They are small things that we find out by watching videos", confessed the goalkeeper.

The Valencian captain shot in the middle and there was his hand to take Real Madrid to the final of the

.

Real Madrid's efficiency from the penalty spot and its maturity in tense situations, infinitely greater than that of Valencia, ended up prevailing on the cold night in Riyadh.

Just what the more than 50,000 Saudi viewers wanted.

Six goals from Benzema

It looked as if Real Madrid were about to shake off a tidy rival when

headed to the penalty spot to score the first goal of the game.

There is no Spanish Super Cup without a goal from the French.

It has become a custom because they have arrived in the last five editions.

He scored in 2011 and 2017, when the competition was still roundtrip, and the rival was Barça.

But since the Super Cup moved to Arabia his goals have grown.

He did them in 2021, 2022 and 2023, in different scenarios.

Six goals in five editions, a feat only surpassed by

, who has 14 goals in eight Super Cups played.

Benzema had paused with the Ballon d'Or under his arm.

Without being able to show it off in the World Cup, the Frenchman, already away from the national team, wants to forget the bad taste of injuries due to goals.

In his return he could not have been more effective.

He arrived at this Super Cup greased with the two goals that, in the final seven minutes, he scored against Valladolid in Zorrilla and, although it was of little use, the one he scored from a penalty at El Madrigal.

Against Valencia, also from eleven meters after

could not stop him, he scored his 16th goal and strengthened his special relationship with this competition.

Of course, he had that and little else.

.

A Madrid stadium... with converted bathrooms

The white team won in the stands on the cold night of Riyadh and in a stadium of 62,000 spectators that did not fill up.

Cheered since he jumped to the warm-up, with a large banner in the background with the image of the white stars, it did not seem that there was a rival with a pedigree in Europe, although he had come down.

In Riyadh, Valencia existed only for about twenty irreducible fans who tried, but they couldn't even make themselves noticed when

managed to equalize.

The stands began cheering with olés, shouts of Madrid, Madrid!

with white flags in the wind and scarves, because it was appreciated to cover the neck and most of the shirts were hidden under the coat.

It was even appreciated to move to do the Mexican wave.

And when Benzema, an absolute idol, scored, they revealed themselves with 'This is how Madrid wins'.

From penalty.

On penalties.

In the stands, a majority of men, but fans were allowed to be seen, accompanied by their families, husbands and even in pairs of friends, one of the novelties that this Super Cup has brought, where they are no longer segregated.

The other, the one that

cheered on, the bathrooms.

The

, which is not as modern as its cover indicates because it is thirty years old, was conceived for an only male audience.

For this reason, there are women's toilets, but they are renowned men's, with dozens of urinals.

The only difference was the presence of girls at the door, perhaps to avoid embarrassing mistakes.

There were efforts to give Spanish color to the duel.

Two

on a stage together with a lip-syncing guitarist were the attraction for the Saudis while the stands filled up.

A few meters away, carpets spread out, slippers lined up, and last prayers before taking their seats.

The contrasts of Riyadh.

The bellows ran out for the fans at the start of the second part, just when Valencia started and sowed doubts.

The little that Real Madrid could do to avoid extra time ended up in the body and in the hands of

.

Of course, on penalties he did not work miracles.

Cömert's mistake was followed by Captain Gayà's painful one in the last

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