Retain its crown and give impetus to its season: FC Barcelona meets its great rival Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, which intends to take its revenge on the 2023 edition, Sunday in Riyadh (8:00 p.m.).
But Xavi’s Barça, who won their first title on the Blaugrana bench by dominating Real 3-1, already in Riyadh, are not favorites against the Merengues who have been undefeated for twenty matches in all competitions.
Still sluggish in the game, the Catalans struggled to get rid of Osasuna on Thursday (2-0), 12th in Liga and unfortunate finalist of the Copa del Rey.
But their management of the end of the match gives them a definite advantage over the Madrilenians who had to pull away at the end of extra time to eliminate Antoine Griezmann’s Atlético on Wednesday (5-3).
“We arrive a little less fit than Real Madrid, but when the ball starts rolling, it will be 50/50,” assured Xavi at a press conference on Saturday. “We will try to dominate the match, to impose our personality, our way of playing, (…) to be faithful to ‘Cruyffismo’”, he added, while his team is struggling to convince.
Left behind in the championship by his historic rival and his neighbor Girona, the Catalan coach hopes that the Super Cup will serve, like last year, as a “trigger” for his men, and revive them in the defense of their championship crown. Spain.
“Last year’s final was a great match, but this year it’s different. Madrid changed their system and their team no longer has anything to do with each other,” Xavi analyzed.
The Merengues, led by their star recruit Jude Bellingham, author of an exceptional first part of the season (17 goals in 22 La Liga and Champions League matches), are “hungry” to conquer “the first title of the season “, said Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian technician, who recently extended his tenure at the head of the White House until 2026 despite interest from the Brazilian selection, has the opportunity on Sunday to equal Zinédine Zidane as the second most successful coach in history of Real (11 trophies).
“The trophies stay in the cupboard, we look at them from time to time, they are memories, but the important thing is the day after,” he concluded.
