The hidden hero in Barça's penalties and Xavi's "fault" for Ansu Fati

• Chronicle Ter Stegen ties Barça to the 'Clásico' desired by the Saudi petrodollars

• Direct This is how we live it

«

!».

The globalization of football and the agreement between the

and

to play the

in

allow, at times, somewhat surreal situations.

Yesterday, at the gates of

, eight Saudi fans jumped into the stands while chanting the political tagline that always accompanies the famous "Visca el Barça!".

The chant has been shouted so many times that perhaps it has lost its meaning, but heard

from Barcelona it sounds strange.

The Arab fans of Culés, like the Real Madrid fans against

, were in the majority compared to those of Betis, although in general they went from

in the first semifinal to

.

A small puncture with local suffering.

The Andalusians, always passionate, would have filled any stand in a Spanish stadium, "

", they insisted in the preview, "and here we are".

But their colors are not so well known beyond our borders as to compete in spirit with the two greats of football.

That is the sad reality of this Super Cup in which the public sings, shouts, goes out of their way and

for the desire for a classic in the final on Sunday.

"Please, let Barça win to see the classic!" They repeated before the start of the semifinal.

So it was.

«

!», they chanted after the 1-0 victory for the Polish striker.

It was the 'second' 1-0 of the game, because a few minutes before

had put Barça ahead, although the goal was canceled due to an offside by Raphina, an assistant in the goal.

(SAO) tool

, used during the World Cup and released in Spain for this Super Cup, detected that the Brazilian's right foot was slightly ahead of

's body .

A few millimeters that with the classic lines used in the League and the Champions League would be almost undetectable, but they were for the new system.

This app uses

that monitor all the footballers and detect when they are in a conflictive position.

In the stands,

, some from Andalusia and others belonging to a Saudi Arabian supporters club, constantly cheered their team on for the double after the Cup. Many wore the team's commemorative shirt for the Betis title. last year, who has eliminated the vertical stripes and has simply left a green stripe on the white shirt.

The choice of Sergio Alegre

The extension in Riyadh left two protagonists that fate has not treated too well in recent months:

.

The first made it 2-1 with a sensational volley, his second goal in 2023 after the one scored in the Cup against Intercity.

Before, he had not scored since October 20.

«

.

It is my fault.

He is much better since he returned from the

.

He has suffered and has worked to be at this level", praised Xavi, who assured that Betis "has dominated us in some phases of the second half, that section has been a disappointment", and ended by criticizing how "tough" the team was. grass "for both teams".

Loren

, for his part, tied the duel in his first minutes since August.

He had not scored since December 2021. Both caused the second consecutive penalty shootout in the Super Cup.

That 's where

appeared , a culé hero like Courtois was for Real Madrid.

The pity, the Spanish public will think, is that they have lived 4,000 kilometers from the Iberian Peninsula.

The star of the shootout was

, Xavi's assistant who was in charge of choosing the Barça shooters: "

," admitted Pedri, who did not shoot for Spain against Morocco and did shoot yesterday, unlike

.

«Ter Stegen has made the difference.

It may be luck, but you have to take penalties and you have to save them to win", concluded Xavi.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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