Barcelona crowned the Spanish Super Cup by defeating rivals Real Madrid 3-1 in the confrontation hosted by King Fahd Stadium in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, so that coach Xavi won his first official title with the Catalan team.
Barcelona made a strong show, and Real Madrid suffered a heavy loss, which could have become greater had it not been for the brilliance of Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who saved more than one dangerous ball over the two halves of the match.
From Riyadh.. 🇸🇦
Barcelona reviews three ✅
.. and Xavi, the coach, achieves his first title 🏆
📺 Enjoy with Barca 🔽 #Real_Madrid_Barcelona |
#SSC pic.twitter.com/zDollZfE1y
- Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) January 15, 2023
Young Gavi opened the scoring with the first goal in the 33rd minute, after an elaborate pass from Robert Lewandowski, before the two exchanged roles as Gavi passed the ball to the Polish striker, who scored the second goal in the 45th minute.
The situation did not change in the second half, in which Barcelona continued its advantage, and Pedri added the third goal after another pass from Gavi in the 69th minute.
And in stoppage time, Karim Benzema narrowed the difference by scoring the only goal for Real Madrid, taking advantage of the chaos in front of the Barcelona penalty area.
🏆 The first rain sooooober 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/bnjzCshuir
- FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_ara) January 15, 2023
Barcelona raised its tally of titles in the Spanish Super Cup to 14 titles, to continue holding the record for the number of crowning times, compared to 13 titles for Real Madrid.
Barcelona reached the final by defeating Real Betis on penalties after a 2-2 draw, while Real Madrid reached the same way at the expense of Valencia, after a 1-1 draw.
🎼🎶🎵 Sary Al-Layyel... pic.twitter.com/ehAd9WEm8U
- FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_ara) January 15, 2023
Barcelona leads the Spanish League, with 13 wins, two draws and a loss, and the “Blaugrana” appears, and it appears in its best stage, especially after its victory over the stubborn Atletico Madrid in its home 1-0 in the last stage.
He also advanced to the round of 16 in the King's Cup of Spain, while facing Manchester United in the knockout round of the European League competition.