Barcelona beat Real Madrid in Supercopa to claim first trophy under Xavi
Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-1 in Riyadh to claim to win the Spanish Supercopa, their first trophy under coach Xavi Hernandez
Barcelona beat fierce rivals Real Madrid 3-1 in Riyadh on Sunday night to win the Supercopa de España, their first trophy under coach Xavi Hernandez.
Barça led 2-0 at the break following goals from Gavi and Robert Lewandowski and the Blaugrana extended their lead through Pedri after 69 minutes.
Madrid grabbed a late consolation through Karim Benzema in added time, but it was Barcelona's night and the Catalans claimed a first piece of silverware since the 2021 Copa del Rey under Ronald Koeman.
The Supercopa de España is a four-team competition these days and this was the fourth edition since the change of format in 2020.
None of the winners in that time would have been involved in the previous Supercopa, which pitted the LaLiga champions against the Copa del Rey winners. Now, it includes the runners-up from both of those competitions as well.
SUPER 🏆 CHAMPIONS pic.twitter.com/f8O7U4HMHzJanuary 15, 2023
For Barcelona, this was a record 14th Supercopa title and the Catalans, currently leading LaLiga, will hope it serves as a platform for greater victories in the months ahead following a difficult couple of years.
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Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.