Xabi Alonso said Real Madrid will “assess the risk” of playing Kylian Mbappé in Sunday’s Supercopa final with Barcelona, with the star forward racing to recover from a knee sprain.

Mbappé flew out to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to join his teammates on Friday having stayed behind to continue his recovery in Madrid, missed Thursday’s 2-1 semifinal derby win over Atletico Madrid.

The France international has been absent for Real’s first two games of 2026, with an injury which had previously troubled him for some weeks, despite scoring 29 goals in all competitions this season.

“He’s much better,” Alonso said in a news conference on Saturday. “The idea was that it was going to be very tight [for Mbappé] to play against Atlético, so we decided not to rush him.

“But if we got to the final, depending on how he felt, he would come. When he trains today, we’ll have all the information we need to assess it, and see if he’s ready to start, or play a bit less.”

Alonso was asked whether it would be worth the risk of giving Mbappé a pain-killing injection to take part in Sunday’s final, with the first trophy of the Spanish season on the line.

“We have to assess the risk,” Alonso said. “We know what’s at stake, and take responsibility for our decisions. We’re not kamikazes… It’s a controlled risk.”

Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in the first Clásico of the season in October, having lost all four meetings in 2024-25.

They completed Thursday’s semifinal with a makeshift defence, after centre-backs Antonio Rüdiger and Raúl Asencio both had to be substituted with discomfort.

“[The defence] are better,” Alonso said. “We’ll train this afternoon and make a decision. We’re seeing some instability in defense. Some players are putting in an extra effort. But we’re dealing with it.”

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Vinícius Júnior has again been in the spotlight this week after clashing with Atletico coach Diego Simeone during Thursday’s game.

The Brazil international has now gone 16 matches without scoring.

“Every player is different,” Alonso said, when asked about how he’s managing the forward. “You have to be intelligent. Vini is emotional. You have to know how to be there for him. His teammates and the coaching staff make sure he understands. It’s a matter of timing. He’ll be back to his best, and he will be decisive.”

Curt Cignetti was not going to take Friday night’s College Football Playoff semifinal victory for granted.

For the first time in school history, the Indiana Hoosiers will be playing for a national title after walloping Oregon 56-22 in the Peach Bowl.

Eventually, the Hoosiers will sit down and watch film on No. 10 Miami, which has had quite the Cinderella run to take on the top-ranked, 15-0 Hoosiers.

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But Cignetti had one thing on his mind while the Hoosiers celebrated at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

ESPN’s Molly McGrath asked Cignetti when he’d “stop and appreciate how special and how historic all of this has been,” assuming Cignetti was already “thinking about the next game.”

Cignetti, though, corrected her.

“I’m not thinking about the next game. I’m thinking about cracking open a beer,” he admitted.

The Hoosiers became the fifth team in modern college football history to go 15-0. Now they can become the first team of the modern era to go 16-0 and only the second of all time, joining an 1894 Yale team that played with leather helmets.

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti looks on before the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 6, 2025. (Robert Goddin/Imagn Images)

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Cignetti has left the college football world breathless with a dramatic turnaround of the Hoosiers program, going from one of the losingest teams in the Big Ten to potentially the most dominant single season of all time.

Following their undefeated regular season, the Hoosiers have only gained momentum in the CFP. After defeating Ohio State for the Big Ten championship, Indiana overwhelmed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal as Fernando Mendoza passed for 192 yards and three touchdowns.

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti walks towards the sideline after a time out against Ohio State Buckeyes in the fourth quarter during the football game in Columbus on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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Indiana will try to give the Big Ten its third straight national title, following Ohio State and Michigan the last two seasons. Few teams from any conference can compare with the Hoosiers’ season-long demonstration of balanced, strong play.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Barcelona coach Hansi Flick insists his team are focused on Real Madrid, not the potential return of Kylian Mbappé in Sunday’s Spanish Supercopa final in Saudi Arabia

Mbappé, 27, missed Madrid’s semifinal win over Atlético Madrid in midweek with a knee injury but has since flown out to Jeddah and could take part in this weekend’s showpiece.

The French striker has 29 goals this season in all competitions, while he has also scored six times in five Clásicos, although Flick was keen to point out those games have usually ended in Barça victories.

“How many Clásicos have we played in the last one-and-a-half years?,” Flick questioned in a news conference when asked if his team’s high defensive line could be tested by Mbappé.

“[We have played] five. We lost one, OK? So it’s about that. I know he’s a fantastic player and with space he’s really great, but also for us to compete against one of the best teams in the world.

“We will adapt like we always do, but it’s not about Mbappé, it’s about Madrid and how we want to play. We are focused on our philosophy, our idea how we want to play.

“We want to play like Barça and Barça’s style is different to Real Madrid’s.”

Pressed on Mbappé’s form this season, Flick added that there is no better front man in the world right now.

“At the moment, Mbappé is the best striker, it’s like that,” the German coach added. “He has scored many, many goals and is a world class player.”

Mbappé was on target when Madrid beat Barça 2-1 in LaLiga earlier this season, ending a run of four straight Clásico wins for the Blaugrana under Flick.

That result took Madrid five points clear of Barça at the top of the table, but there has been a nine-point swing since then, with the Catalan side currently four points clear at the LaLiga summit and on a nine-game winning run.

“It was only one game,” Flick said of tasting Clásico defeat for the first time in October.

“[Since then], we came back. We have focused on what is necessary and we play much better and also more successful. This is the thing.

“The team is very focused. I am happy about this situation at the moment. We want to play on our best level. I have a good feeling about my team. Tomorrow we have to show how good we are.”

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– Vinícius Jr. taunts Diego Simeone after Real Madrid, Atlético clash

Sunday’s final is the fourth consecutive meeting between Barça and Madrid at this stage.

The Supercopa has recently proven a marker for what is to come in the second half of the season. The last four winners — Madrid (2022 and 2024) and Barça (2023 and 2025) — have all subsequently gone on to win LaLiga as well.

Barça won last year’s final 5-2 and not only go into this year’s meeting on a nine-game winning run, but without conceding in their last five games and with a nearly fully fit squad.

Long-term absentees Gavi and Andreas Christensen are the only confirmed absences, with Flick confirming Lamine Yamal is ready to start after only being fit enough to make the bench for the 5-0 semifinal win over Athletic Club.