Marc-André ter Stegen saved two penalties and Pedri converted the deciding spot kick as Barcelona defeated Real Betis 4-2 in a shootout Thursday to set up a Spanish Super Cup final against rival Real Madrid this weekend in Saudi Arabia. Madrid defeated Valencia on penalties in the other semifinal on Wednesday, when Thibaut Courtois made the decisive save. “Ter Stegen makes the difference,” Barcelona coach Xavi said. “He makes the two saves and sends us to the final.” Read more: Ronaldo set to face PSG, Messi in first game in Saudi Arabia The decisive match will be on Sunday at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. Barcelona converted all four of its penalties in the shootout and Ter Stegen stopped the efforts by Juanmi and Willian Carvalho to give the Catalan club the victory. “The match was super difficult, Betis made it tough for us,” Ter Stegen said. “In the end it’s about making it to finals, and we've made it. You also need some luck in the shootout, and this time it was on our side.” The teams drew 1-1 in regulation after Robert Lewandowski scored for Barcelona in the first half and Nabil Fekir equalized for Betis near the end. The score was 2-2 after extra time as Ansu Fati gave Barcelona an early lead and Loren Morón equalized again for Betis. In the shootout, Fati, Lewandowski and Franck Kessie also scored for Barcelona. Morón and Willian José converted for Betis. It will be the first time Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Madrid meet in the Super Cup final since the competition was revamped and taken to Saudi Arabia in 2020. “It will be a beautiful match,” Ter Stegen said. “Everyone here wants to see a match like this and I’m thrilled to be able to play in it and to try to win it.” Madrid will try to equal Barcelona with 13 Spanish Super Cup trophies, the most among all clubs. Barcelona will be trying to win its first Super Cup trophy since 2018. Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis was trying to reach its first Super Cup final since 2005, when it lost to Barcelona. “We are disappointed, the team played a great match," Pellegrini said. “We felt like we deserved to win in regulation but it wasn't possible, and then Ter Stegen made some good saves.” Read more: Late goals help PSG beat 3rd-tier Châteauroux in French Cup The Super Cup used to be played only between the Spanish league champion and the Copa del Rey winner, but now the runners-up in both competitions also participate in Final Four tournament that was taken to Saudi Arabia in a lucrative deal for the Spanish soccer federation. Madrid defeated Barcelona 3-1 at home in the first “clásico” of the season at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in October. Lewandowski scored his first goal since the World Cup after a pass from Ousmane Dembélé in the 40th minute. He scored in Poland’s 3-1 loss to France in December in the round of 16 in Qatar, but hadn’t found the net for Barcelona since a 1-0 win at Valencia in the Spanish league in October. Betis equalized in the 77th when Fekir sent a low shot past Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. Lewandowski thought he had scored his second — and a possible winner late in regulation — but the goal was disallowed for offside in the buildup. Fati scored early in extra time with a volley from just inside the area, and Morón evened the match about 10 minutes later with a backheel touch from close range. Betis played the final minutes of extra time with 10 men as Andrés Guardado was sent off with a second yellow card for a hard foul.

Sevilla needed a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw at Atlético Madrid to clinch the final Champions League spot in the Spanish league on Sunday. Barcelona secured second place, and a spot in the lucrative Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, after a 0-0 draw at Getafe, which escaped relegation. A header by Youssef En-Nesyri in the 85th minute secured the point that gave Sevilla a place in Europe’s top club competition for a third straight season. Third-place Atlético, which had already qualified, opened the scoring with José María Giménez in the first half. A loss would have left Sevilla in a tense situation going into the final round next weekend as rival Real Betis beat Granada 2-0 to close in. The draw kept Sevilla three points ahead with a better head-to-head tiebreaker against fifth-place Betis. “Mission accomplished,” Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui said. “What a great season! The team deserved this prize.” Manuel Pellegrini's Betis had already secured a Europa League place by winning the Copa del Rey, and it will be joined in the second-tier competition by sixth-place Real Sociedad, which defeated Villarreal 2-1 on Sunday. Also read:PSG star Mbappe wins league's best player award for 3rd time Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao, which beat Osasuna 2-0, will fight next weekend for a spot in the third-tier Europa Conference League. Villareal visits Barcelona, while Bilbao is at Sevilla. Real Madrid, which had already clinched the title and is focused on the Champions League final against Liverpool on May 28, drew 1-1 at Cádiz. Alavés became the second team relegated after a 3-1 loss at Levante, which had been demoted in the previous round. Granada, Mallorca and Cádiz will fight to avoid relegation in the final round. EUROPA LEAGUE Unai Emery’s Villarreal had a chance to stay alive in the fight for a Europa League spot but it allowed visiting Sociedad to rally to victory in the second half to secure the final spot in the second-tier competition. Villarreal, which made it to the Champions League semifinals this season, is now in danger of missing out on the final Europa Conference League berth as well after Bilbao moved within a point of seventh place. Bilbao holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against Villarreal. RELEGATION FIGHT Mallorca moved out of the relegation zone thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Abdón Prats in a 2-1 home win over Rayo Vallecano. “It was incredible,” Prats said. “Hopefully this goal can keep the team in the first division.” The victory left Mallorca just outside the relegation zone, tied on points with Cádiz but ahead on the head-to-head tiebreaker. A win at midtable Osasuna next weekend will guarantee the club owned by American businessman Robert Sarver stays in the top flight. Cádiz will play at last-place Alavés. Granada, sitting one point ahead of Mallorca, will host Espanyol in the final round. SUÁREZ’S FAREWELL Striker Luis Suárez became emotional as he received a huge ovation from Atlético Madrid fans after being substituted in the second half of what was likely his last match with the club. “Thanks for making us champions,” said a banner at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. Suárez was key in the team’s title run last season after joining from Barcelona, but gradually lost his starting place and only played a few minutes off the bench recently. Atlético is five points behind Barcelona, which got the result it needed against Getafe to secure the Spanish Super Cup berth in advance. Also read: FIFA takes on EA Sports video game in soccer’s new rivalry MADRID DRAWS Focused on Liverpool, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti again rested some of his starters — including striker Karim Benzema, forward Vinícius Júnior, midfielder Luka Modric and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois — in the draw at relegation-threatened Cádiz. Cádiz missed a chance to leave with the victory when forward Álvaro Negredo had his 61st-minute penalty kick saved by Madrid's Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. The home win would have put Cádiz two points outside the relegation zone. Cádiz won one of its last five matches after a shock 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou Stadium. Madrid enters the final round with 85 points, 12 more than Barcelona.