Real Madrid sealed their progress to Sunday’s Supercopa de Espana final against Barcelona by beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 in a tense derby in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Federico Valverde put Real ahead after less than two minutes with a rocket of a free kick from distance. Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved from Rodrygo in the 28th minute, but Real’s lead began to look shaky — Thibaut Courtois was forced to deny Alexander Sorloth in the 33rd minute from a corner, before Sorloth glanced a header over the bar with the goal at his mercy two minutes later.

Rodrygo gave his team breathing space in the 55th minute when he shook off Robin Le Normand and finished past Oblak following a fine pass from Valverde. But Sorloth cut that lead down three minutes later with a header from close range from a Giuliano Simeone cross.

Real held on despite some late scares — meaning Alonso has the chance to challenge for a first trophy in charge of Real against Barca.

Here, Dermot Corrigan and Anantaajith Raghuraman analyse the key talking points.

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Valverde’s bolt from the blue

A minute in, Real Madrid used a strategy that became their go-to for much of the first half. They lumped the ball long to Gonzalo Garcia, with Jude Bellingham picking up his knock-down, before the England midfielder was brought down by Conor Gallagher. It looked like a soft foul, with some camera angles hinting that Bellingham may have made contact with Gallagher first.

In most games, that would have been an innocuous moment, but Valverde made it memorable. He sprinted in and thumped a finish from around 30 yards out that took a minor deflection off Alexander Sorloth and went in off Oblak’s fingertips. This was as clean a dead-ball strike as you are likely to see.

Valverde’s goal took all of 76 seconds, the earliest goal in the Supercopa this century, surpassing Mario Mandzukic, who scored after 82 seconds for Atletico in Alonso’s final game as a player for Real in August 2014. Valverde’s goal was also the fourth-earliest Real strike against Atletico in the 21st century.

Valverde’s celebration was just as striking, with the Uruguay international roaring and hitting his head with both hands as he ran off. It was a moment of release. This season, the midfielder has played in his less-preferred position at right-back and been forced to defend himself from criticism on social media.

Madrid’s captain made an important contribution in defence too, with some well-timed slide tackles and a couple of interceptions. Valverde also provided the key pass for Rodrygo’s effort to make it 2-0. He remains indispensable to a side still attempting to find their identity under Alonso.