Den spanske supercupen Image credit: Getty Images
Den spanske supercupen Image credit: Getty Images

Raul Garcia bagged a brace as Athletic Club set up a Spanish Supercopa final meeting with Barcelona with a 2-1 semi-final win over Real Madrid.

Zinedine Zidane stuck with the same team that laboured to a goalless draw against Osasuna on Saturday, refusing the opportunity to rotate his squad despite the number of games Los Blancos have played of late.

An element of weariness was evident in their play from the start and Athletic Club made the most of that to open the scoring after 18 minutes, with Raul Garcia sliding a finish underneath Thibaut Courtois after some slack defensive play.

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Athletic Club doubled their advantage seven minutes from half time when Lucas Vazquez brought down Iker Muniain inside the box, giving Garcia the opportunity to score his second from the spot.

Marco Asensio struck the woodwork no fewer than three times before Karim Benzema scored a close range effort following a VAR check to give the Spanish champions a lifeline with 17 minutes left to play.

Courtois made a big save to prevent Athletic Club a third goal through Asier Villalibre, with Sergio Ramos also coming close to an equaliser with a header just wide, but the Basque side got the job done to set up a clash with Barcelona in Seville on Sunday.