Not many people saw the exact moment Ronald Araújo lifted the Super Cup to the sky and a weight from his mind but the men that matter most did: they were right there, standing by him. They had welcomed him back, 47 days later and in a final, lifted him up towards the light, and handed him the captain’s armband. Now, after they had beaten Real Madrid 3-2 together in Jeddah, they handed him the captain’s responsibility and a captain’s honour, inviting him to raise the trophy for all of them. Which was when someone walked in front of the camera, went whoops and walked back again.
By the time the shadow left the screen, Araújo was holding with the cup over his head, teammates roaring around him, and the Real Madrid players who stayed to watch had turned down the tunnel. They had been close to trading places. In a final of sudden storms – three clear chances and a goal in 2min 54sec after half an hour, three goals in 3min 33sec of first half added time, three golden opportunities saved in 10 second-half minutes – theirs had been the last. Some 134 seconds passed between Marcus Rashford smashing wide and two glimpses of salvation appearing before Madrid but they couldn’t grasp either, on 95.04 and 96.42. So Barcelona had the first trophy of the season.
