Xavi claims first trophy as Barcelona manager after beating Real Madrid in Spanish Super Cup final

Xavi claimed his first trophy as Barcelona manager after a comfortable victory over rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final.

The La Liga leaders dominated the match in Saudi Arabia and took the lead when 18-year-old Gavi fired in from Robert Lewandowski’s pass.

Lewandowski struck just before half time when he finished from Gavi’s pass.

Gavi got another assist in the second half as he set up Pedri, before Karim Benzema struck a late consolation.

The Frenchman’s late goal was scant consolation for Real Madrid, who were a distant second best throughout.

Indeed, Thibaut Courtois prevented Barcelona from winning by an even bigger margin with a couple of smart saves.

The former Chelsea goalkeeper was tested early when he turned Lewandowski’s sweeping effort onto the post and he also kept out Ousmane Dembele’s powerful strike.

But after Pedri got his side’s third midway through the second half with a tap-in there was never any doubt about the result as Barcelona won the Super Cup for the first time since 2018.

Real Madrid were just unable to handle the brilliance of Gavi who, alongside his two assists, became the youngest scorer in a Spanish Super Cup, with his goal surpassing the record of his current manager Xavi.

Back in October these two sides faced each other in the first El Clasico meeting of the season, with Real Madrid easing to a 3-1 win.

But Barcelona have since only gone from strength-to-strength and are currently top of La Liga, three points clear of Real, with this victory extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to nine games.

source bbc