RIYADH: Barcelona convincingly beat Real Madrid 3-1 in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to win the Spanish Super Cup, their first trophy since coach Xavi Hernandez took over.
Inspired by teenager Gavi, who scored himself and set up goals for Robert Lewandowski and Pedri Gonzalez, the Catalans produced one of their best performances in years against their bitter Clasico rivals.
Having enjoyed great success as a player at Barca, Xavi returned in November 2021 and after a summer of heavy spending, this emphatic victory is a sign his project is moving in the right direction.
Karim Benzema netted a late consolation for Madrid, who have been far from their best since the World Cup break and also fell three points behind Barcelona in La Liga last weekend.
Los Blancos gave up the trophy they won last year to Barcelona, who have now won the Super Cup a record 14 times. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti experienced his first loss in a final since 2014.
Sergio Busquets, the captain of Barca, told Movistar, “We knew it was a chance we had to take. We have gone through a period of changes at the club and in the dressing room, and this will reinforce us to keep pushing for more titles.”
“You know how (Gavi) competes, he’s young, most guys his age would be on the youth squad, yet he’s playing at an exceptional level, dishing out assists and scoring goals.
“He has a brilliant future ahead of him and a lot of room to improve. I hope he’s a player who marks an era at Barca.”
Xavi crucially deployed four central midfielders, with 18-year-old Gavi drifting inside off a nominal starting position on the left and frequently giving Madrid right-back Dani Carvajal the slip.
Toni Kroos played as Madrid’s deepest midfielder with Aurelien Tchouameni out injured, and he was overrun.
Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a brilliant early save to deny Lewandowski, tipping his low drive against the post, while Benzema headed narrowly off-target.
Barcelona broke the deadlock when Busquets pressed well after a loose Antonio Rudiger pass, leading to Lewandowski feeding Gavi, who slotted home confidently.
Pedri and Ousmane Dembele were also involved in an exchange of slick passes before Lewandowski teed up Gavi, whose clever run went untracked.
Gavi turned provider for the second, running onto De Jong’s pass and sliding the ball across for Lewandowski to finish clinically.
The Catalans’ dominance brought back memories of their 4-0 win over Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu last season, which had been the highlight of Xavi’s time in charge, until now.
Real ‘weaknesses’
Gavi, who won the Golden Boy award in 2022, was the game’s outstanding performer and showed Barcelona are in good hands both now and for years to come.
Madrid’s own young star Vinicius Junior was shackled by Ronald Araujo, the Uruguayan playing at right-back to directly subdue the Brazilian’s threat.
Courtois denied Dembele after a brilliant Alejandro Balde run and the overworked Belgian stopper was keeping Madrid’s slim hopes alive.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen of Barcelona, in contrast, was not put to the test until the 70th minute, when he stopped a long-range shot from Kroos, by which time his team had scored their third goal.
Barcelona romped to a thrilling victory thanks to Lewandowski’s release of Gavi, who crossed for Pedri to tap home at the back post.
Another example of the developing youthful talent at Xavi’s disposal is Pedri, 20, who was also the recipient of the Golden Boy award in 2021.
Barcelona’s perfect record was marred by a late Benzema goal, which he scored after his initial shot was stopped.
Ancelotti told Movistar, “We must grow; this is a trying time, and that’s all.
We don’t need to take on too much. The team wasn’t at its best, something we were aware of before the game. We have to bounce back and get ready for the next game because the game highlighted some shortcomings.
The biggest setback for Madrid might end up being the morale boost the victory gives their competitors.
Although Barcelona has already been eliminated from the Champions League this year, Xavi will draw encouragement from this victory despite the fact that his final evaluation will be based on how he performs in important competitions.