Xavi Hernández insisted before the game that it was a great opportunity to, in addition to winning what was his first title as Barcelona coach, give a boost to his project that started 14 months ago, and he fulfilled it by beating Real Madrid, champion of Europe and the League last season, with a resounding 1-3 win in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh.
A party that began to decant on the benches. Xavi won the duel against the Italian Carlo Ancelotti. Both were protected with four starting midfielders, but this was just a number. The important thing came in how they were positioned on the pitch.
The Barca coach surprised by placing Gavi on the far leftand not Pedri as he used to do when he bet on the scheme away from the classic 4-3-3 of Barcelona. Against Real Madrid he came out rather with a 4-2-3-1, with De Jong and Busquets in a solid double pivot, Pedri on the inside very close to Lewandowski and Gavi and Dembélé giving width by bands.
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Y Xavi’s plan came out perfectly. Also helped by a Real Madrid defense that has not yet returned after the World Cup.
Error in the ball out of Rüdiger and Camavinga. The first gave the second a compromised pass, with his back turned, and Busquets anticipated it with the mastery that he
characterized to catch the Real Madrid defense unbalanced and for the Lewandowski-Gavi connection to do the rest after a first touch, tense, to Pedri’s Pole who gave the necessary verticality to the play.
Gavi outplayed Courtois, who had previously gotten a big hand on a Lewandowski shot from outside the area, that Balde missed the rebound sending it out with the Belgian getting up off the ground, and Barcelona took the lead at minute 34.
Eleven later, just before the first half add-on was shown, Gavi returned the gift, in the form of assistance, to Lewandowski. Pass behind De Jong’s defense, led by Gavi, who seemed to run out of options but hurried until he found Lewandowski alone at the far post to make it 0-2.
Rüdiger was pointed out in both actions, such as breaking an offside position on the first clear chance for Barcelona in the match, in the 6th minute. The German also received a blow to the head, when Coutois hit him with his elbow in an exit by high, minutes before the 0-1. And in the spotlight also a Carvajal who saw how Gavi surpassed him on all sides.
Even the local fans, crowded at the entrances when accessing without a ticket, who began by cheering Real Madrid more, ended up chanting the names of Gavi and Pedri.
Ancelotti sought the reaction by removing Camavinga at halftime, a situation that has occurred five times since he signed for Real Madrid, and giving entry to Rodrygo; but the white team’s problem was in defense and in the ball’s release.
It only took Barcelona five minutes of the second half to remind him. Balde caught Carvajal’s back and only another saving save by Courtois, this one against Dembélé, avoided the 0-3. The same time that passed until the Belgian had to appear, before Courtois, to continue keeping his people alive; though he was rowing to die on the shore.
The Benzema-Vinicius association gave some air and hope to Real Madrid, but it fell apart again at the back, in another serious individual error and it came to 0-3.
Ceballos, who entered the field of play four minutes before, gave a loose, high and backward pass to a Militao who Gavi, who after a weak game against Valencia gave an exhibition this Sunday, stole the ball and there was no way to stop the start of Barça that Pedri culminated with a shot at pleasure at the far post.
The three goals that Real Madrid conceded were with unmarked shots from Barcelona players inside the area, and two of them, those of Lewandowski and Pedri, even in the small area.
Already at the last minute, Benzema somewhat made up the score by adding his fourth consecutive game scoring in the last minute of the three added.
A match that was a true reflection of that lack of concentration that Ancelotti publicly criticized after the defeat at Villarreal and after the pass to the semifinals after eliminating Valencia on penalties and that, for the moment, has not found a solution and has even grown bigger. injured when falling loosely in front of a Barcelona gaining momentum with Xavi at the controls.
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