Barcelona beat Athletic Club to reach Spanish Super Cup final

Lamine Yamal and Gavi scored as Barcelona beat Athletic Club to reach the Spanish Super Cup final.

Hansi Flick's side made a flying start to the match, held at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Saudi Arabia, and took a 17th-minute lead when Gavi slotted in from Alejandro Balde's pass.

Teenager Yamal got the second seven minutes into the second half when he ran on to a chipped pass before driving past Unai Simon.

Inaki Williams thought he had pulled a goal back in the final minute of normal time for Athletic Club, but it was ruled out for offside.

Barcelona will face either Real Madrid and Mallorca, who play on Thursday, in Sunday's final.

The semi-final came too soon for either Dani Olmo and Pau Victor to play for Barcelona after the club was granted provisional permission to register the pair by the Spanish national sports council (CSD) earlier on Wednesday.

The players, both summer signings, were only registered for the first half of the season as Barcelona could not meet La Liga's wage cap restrictions.

On Saturday, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga rejected Barcelona's request to register them.

However, the CSD stepped in on Wednesday following an appeal by the club to grant a precautionary measure and allow the pair to play in the short term.

They could now feature in Sunday's Super Cup final.