Highlights:
- Gavi initiated the goal and gave Barcelona two assists.
- In the midfield, Xavi Hernandez placed an extra man.
- Real Madrid’s consolation goal was scored by Karim Benzema.
As Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3-1 to win the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Gavi, Robert Lewandowski, and Pedri joined the celebration.
Barcelona dominated Real Madrid in every way, taking advantage of Madrid’s blunders to score.
Lewandowski was left up front and Ronald Araujo was placed at the right back to stop Vinicius Jr. by Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez, who astonished everyone by changing his 4-3-3 tactics to add an extra man in the midfield.
While Barcelona benefited from Gavi’s contributions on the left, the dynamic Real Madrid winger Vinicius largely went unnoticed during the game. Gavi not only had two assists but also scored the game’s first goal.
According to captain Sergio Busquets, “We strengthened the midfield to look for taking over that area and Araujo was really good stopping Vinicius counters, we left them with no options and felt very comfortable.”
“We knew that it was an opportunity that we had to seize, we are going through a time of changes in the club and in the dressing room and this win will strengthen us to continue fighting for more titles.”
After Antonio Ruediger passed the ball to Sergio Busquets, whose move ended in Gavi scoring with his left foot, Barcelona broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute.
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Twelve minutes later, when Dani Carvajal was out of position, Lewandowski doubled the lead. Frenkie de Jong passed a great ball to Gavi after spotting him in the open area. The ball was then placed in a plate for Lewandowski by Gavi, who quickly completed the job.
Real Madrid didn’t have any shots that were on goal in the first half and was terrified for the whole of the second. When their replacement Dani Ceballos fumbled the ball in the middle of the field, Gavi crossed it for Pedri to shoot into an open goal.
Real Madrid’s difficult night was over when Karim Benzema scored a consolation goal in the extra time.