Robert Lewandowski recorded his first El-Clasico goal as Barcelona demolished Real Madrid 3-1 to win SuperCopa Final.
After the European champions were dragged to penalty shootouts by Valencia in the semifinal, Carlo Ancelotti made three changes to the squad that started the game against Barcelona on Sunday night, January 15.
Rodri, Varquez, and Nacho made way for Mendy, Carvajal, and Modric.
Xavi brought in Kounde, Balde, and Busquet for Sergi Roberto, Alba, and Raphinha.
Starting Lineup
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois; Daniel Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy; Toni Kroos, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric; Federico Valverde, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Barcelona: Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, Alejandro Balde; Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, Pedri; Gavi, Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele
It was the second meeting between the two teams this year. The first meeting was in La Liga with Real Madrid cruising to a 3-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Xavi hoped to avenge the defeat and win the Supercopa trophy at the Fahd International Stadium.
It was an exceptional performance by the Catalans in the first half. Barcelona outclassed the Los Blancos, who seemed to have lost their foothold in the game.
The Xavi-led team completed more passes in Real Madrid half and forced Courtois to some difficult saves as the pressure mounted.
While Dembele was effectively marked out by Mendy on the right flank, Gavi was exceptional in the middle of the park. It was another masterclass by the youngster who tormented Real Madrid’s midfield and cut supplies to Karim Benzema upfront.
It appears Carlo Ancelotti got his tactical maneuvers wrong. Camavinga was muffled in the middle of the park. Placing the Frenchman in the middle wedged by Kroos and Modric in the left and right midfield, worked to the Los Blancos’ disadvantage.
Gavi, Pedri, and Busquets outplayed the trio leaving the Madrid defense under intense pressure.
After a few attacking threats in the opening minutes, Real Madrid fell deeper below their opponents and had to defend for most of the game as Barcelona continued to surge forward.
With their cadence, pace and momentum, it was pretty obvious the Catalans were heading to a deserved first-half win
Gavin capped his brilliant effort with a superb left footed-finish after Lewandowski’s cross from inside the box in the 33rd minute.
After going a goal up, Barca still controlled proceedings and pressed for another goal and nicked it in the 45th minute.
It was another cool finish. But this time by Robert Lewandowski. The former Bayern Munich forward paced through the rickety Madrid defence to tap home a cross by Gavi.
The Catalans earned a deserved 2-0 lead going into the break, and Real Madrid looked more disorganized and perfectly outwitted by the Xavi-led boys.
The game was largely end-to-end as the second half began. Carlo Ancelotti subbed off Camavinga for Rodrigo to allow Valverde drop into the middle of the park.
The switch changed little for the Los Blancos. Barcelona continued to hold sway over the game and were more threatening when charging forward.
Ancelotti appeared to have exhausted his tactical maneuvers to turn the game around. He subbed off Modric for Caballos again, but the Catalans were too perfect for their bitter rivals.
In the 69th minute, Pedri netted for the Catalans to sink their opponents. The goal dashed all comeback hopes for Real Madrid, leaving Barcelona in perfect control.
Carlo Ancelotti made other substitutions to try and chisel the game but it was too late as Barcelona held on to secure a deserve 3-1 victory to win the Spanish Super Cup, with Karim Benzema scoring a stoppage-time consolation for the Los Blancos’.
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