Real Madrid showed a masterclass in attacking football as they defeated Barcelona 4-1 in the Super Cup final on Sunday night. Carlo Ancelotti’s side proved they are Spain’s best side, exposing Barcelona’s high line with the speed and skill of their front three (Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo Goes and Vinicius Junior). .
Watch/Listen: The Madrid coach’s Supercopa post-match podcast.
Bellingham, who scored the first goal of the game with a through pass, didn’t score but was unstoppable. He played in a deeper role and was everywhere in defence, his dribbling in tight spaces resulting in ‘.ah‘ and ‘ahThe crowd in Riyadh said: His game was perfect in every sense of the word.
Barcelona’s main problems were twofold. 1) Real Madrid were too good and too efficient. 2) Xavi’s tactical plan ended up in the hands of Carlo Ancelotti.
Barcelona’s defense has been dismal all season, and even last season, based on how much they beat their xGA (expected goals against), their good defensive performance was due to their opponents missing chances. It was clear that this was only part of Ter Stegen’s reluctance. He made a miraculous rescue.
Ter Stegen has been out with an injury this season, and Ronald Araujo, one of the mainstays of the defense, hasn’t been feeling well and was in poor form throughout the Super Cup final.
To hold everything together, Barcelona kept a suicidally high defensive line, with Bellingham, Vinicius and Rodrygo fully exposed.
Still, focusing on Barcelona’s dismal performance discredits Real Madrid, who were excellent in every aspect of the game, save for the first half when Robert Lewandowski scored.
“We wanted to win and to our credit we achieved it,” manager Carlo Ancelotti said in the post-match press conference. “We didn’t start very well, but we found Vinicius in a great moment and from there we had a fresh start. Barcelona managed the ball, looked for their chances and were in control until it was 4-1. . I tried to control without pressing too high. It was a perfect match, so I’m very happy.”
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández admitted his team lost to Real Madrid and said they needed to improve defensively and mentally.
Xavi said: “I would like to apologize to the fans. “We were not the team we wanted to be. We have to keep working.”
“The way we started the game affected us a lot. We gave away too much. We weren’t pressing properly, but the penalty hit us very hard. We weren’t at the level required for a competition like this. We’re furious with ourselves and we need to improve a lot if we’re going to compete for the title this season.”
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