The Barcelona players lifting the trophy in Arabia / AFP
Barcelona left no doubt and soundly defeated Real Madrid 3-1 to win the Spanish Super Cup, in the final held yesterday at the King Fahd stadium in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
The Catalan team was clearly superior to the people from Madrid, to stay with a deserved victory and take over the Spanish Super Cup, which the finalists repeated for the second consecutive year, but with different winners after what happened last season, in which the Merengue won title.
A precise definition of the Spanish youth Gavi, after an excellent collective maneuver and a brilliant assistance from the Pole Robert Lewandowski, 36 minutes into the initial stage, served for the partial 1-0.
However, at the end of the first half, at 45 minutes, in another very good team move and, this time, a precise assist from Gavi to Lewandowski, enabled those led by Xavi Hernández to conclude the initial stage with the result 2 to 0.
In the final part, the team led by the experienced Italian Carlo Ancelotti tried to react, but their attempt collided with the total superiority of Barcelona, which dominated the game footballingly and strategically, so it was not surprising that the Culé team extended the advantage to 24 minutes, thus leaving the ground served for what could have been a historic win.
Gavi recovered the ball in the midfield by pressure and gave way to Lewandowski, who returned the ball to him on the left at midfield, so that he, after easily overflowing, sent a low and crossed center, which the other Spanish youth, Pedri, sent to the net with a short touch, on the run and at the far post.
Near the end of the match, when there were two minutes of added time, Real Madrid managed to discount after a series of rebounds and a low shot from Frenchman Karim Benzema, always present and a constant threat to any rival goalkeeper.
Beyond that, the die was already cast and the final moments only served for Culé to be able to taste a title again after 638 long days. In fact, the last smile for the Blaugrana came with Lionel Messi in the team, in what was the consecration of the Copa del Rey in its 2021 edition, played on April 17. On that occasion, the man from Rosario scored a brace in the 4-0 draw against Athletic Bilbao at the La Cartuja Stadium in Seville.
For Xavi Hernández it was his first conquest as Barcelona coach and the eighth in his fledgling career as a strategist. He had already obtained seven in his stage as coach of Al Saad. In addition, the exvolante added 25 in his career as a player.
It should be remembered that the Spanish Super Cup is played by the champion and runner-up of the League: Real Madrid and Barcelona, plus the champion and second in the Copa del Rey: Betis and Valencia.
In the semifinals, Barcelona defeated Real Betis on penalties 4-2, after drawing 2-2 after 120 minutes of play; while Real Madrid did the same with Valencia, by 4 to 3, also in the round of shots from twelve steps, after drawing 1 to 1 after the regulation period and the supplementary period.
