Marc-Andre ter Stegen didn't celebrate much - at least not yet. He'd just saved the second straight Real Betis penalty in Thursday's shootout, diving low to stifle William Carvalho's attempt. And while Carvalho slumped away, Ter Stegen dutifully took his spot on the byline, waiting for Pedri's eventual winner.
It was only when Pedri finally put an end to a nervy, uncomfortable Spanish Super Cup semi-final for Barcelona that he shouted and embraced his team-mates.
The Blaugrana spent long periods on the back foot, and created fewer chances than Real Betis, despite having far more possession. Barcelona went ahead twice, and squandered it both times to send the game to the penalty shootout.
And there, Ter Stegen played hero, saving two Betis shots.
Robert Lewandowski and Ansu Fati grabbed the goals for Barca before the shootout. The Polish striker tucked away a neat volley to open the scoring on his return to the side, but Nabil Fekir swept a shot into the bottom corner to equalise. Fati appeared to have won it in extra-time with a fizzing strike past Claudio Bravo, but Betis struck again, with veteran striker Loren Moron flicking the ball through Ronald Araujo's legs to tie the game at 2-2.
Next up for Barcelona? A Super Cup final against Real Madrid.
