Riyadh (EFE).- Saudi Arabia will have its first classic this Sunday in a final of the Spanish Super Cup, of which they are hosting their third edition, with the goalkeepers, the Belgian Thibaut Courtois and the German Marc-Andre Ter Stegen as main protagonists by propitiating with his saves, during the 120 minutes and in the penalty shootouts, that Real Madrid and Barcelona play for the first title of the season.
A match that the two teams arrive at without going through their best moment, unlike their goalkeepers, who sustained their doubts without the ball and arrive in optimal shape.
An even duel in the goals, as shown by the data for both in the 16 days of LaLiga Santander played before the Spanish Super Cup.
The two goalkeepers have been the best in their respective semifinals, although the ‘MVP’ of the Catalans was taken by a Pedri who later, at a press conference, assured that Ter Stegen deserved it more.
Real Madrid recovers the “touched”
“We are not at the top,” Ancelotti also acknowledged after eliminating Valencia.
Sincere words from the Italian coach that reflected what was seen on the pitch on Wednesday, as well as in the last league game, in the defeat against Villarreal (2-1).
Real Madrid repeated the mistakes that Ancelotti detailed, such as the lack of concentration -they conceded a Valencia goal 22 seconds after returning from the break- and the lack of defensive forcefulness that almost cost them elimination.
The white team is not at a great physical level after the World Cup break, and it shows in the drop in performance of two pillars of the team: the Uruguayan Fede Valverde and the Brazilian Vinicius Junior; Both have not scored or assisted with Real Madrid since November 2, six and five games, respectively.
In the casualties, Ancelotti’s men have recovered the ‘touched’ minus Lucas Vázquez, who will be out for a month and a half.
Especially relevant is the return of Benzemá. The French forward of Real Madrid has assured that he is · back »after« a good job to return and have »his« level again, after a first half of the season in which injuries marked his day to day .
Xavi seeks his first title with Barcelona
For his part, Xavi has everyone available, although Ousmane Dembélé and Frenkie de Jong finished the game against Betis a little limping.
The Barça coach has insisted on the golden opportunity that the game represents for Barcelona, not only because of the need to lift the first official title after the goodbye of the Argentine Leo Messi in the summer of 2021, but also because of finding a turning point that allows him to clear the sea of doubts in his game.
In the semifinal against Betis, the script experienced in the last league match against Atlético de Madrid (0-1) was repeated.
The effervescence returned to make an appearance. The staging was remarkable, but after half an hour of the game, Barça dissolved like a sugar cube.
With everything, Barça is one victory away from savoring, again, which means lifting a title, even if it is the least of the four they can win this season.
All this without forgetting other incentives such as winning the eternal rival -the executioner of the Barca team in the semifinal last year (2-3)-, celebrating the first title of the Xavi Hernández era on the Barca bench or preventing Real Madrid from equaling him as king of the Spanish Super Cup, with thirteen titles.
In Riyadh, the man from Egar will play his fourth classic as a coach. In the first three, he won the game with the resounding 0-4 at the Bernabéu, won 0-1 in the friendly in Las Vegas and also lost 3-1 in the Madrid fiefdom.
And it is that Barça does not keep a good memory of the last league classic held this course.
The white team showed its hierarchy by annulling the Barça team, without ideas or personality to respond to their rival’s punch.
On that occasion, the Uruguayan Ronald Araujo, Xavi’s wild card on the right wing to stop Vinícius, missed the game due to injury. Everything indicates that Xavi will once again resort to the Uruguayan central defender to neutralize the Brazilian’s imbalance.
If this scheme were fulfilled, Jules Koundé and Andreas Christensen would lead the rear, with Jordi Alba and Alejandro Balde as the main alternatives on the left side.
In midfield, Xavi will have to decide whether to play with four midfielders, as he did in the last victory at the Metropolitano, or go with a classic system of three midfielders and three forwards.
Probable lineups:
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Kroos, Modric, Valverde; Rodrygo, Benzema and Vinicius.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Araujo, Koundé, Christensen, Jordi Alba or Balde; Busquets, De Jong, Pedri, Gavi; Dembéle and Lewandowski
Referee: Ricardo De Burgos Bengoechea (Basque Committee).
Stadium: King Fahd.
