RIYADH: Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez says imposing the club’s style of play on Real Madrid will be key to retaining the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh on Sunday.
Barcelona defeated CA Osasuna 2-0 in their semifinal at Al-Awwal Park on Thursday to set up the second successive El Clasico Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia’s capital city.
Barcelona, whose goals against Osasuna came from Robert Lewandowski and 16-year-old star Lamine Yamal, triumphed over Real Madrid 3-1 in last year’s final.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Xavi said: “Every Clasico has its own story, and we cannot predict much. Winning against Real Madrid is never easy, but we have last year’s game as an example. The teams are very leveled and that will show on Sunday. The key for a win will be to control the game and try to impose our style of playing, and to take the ball away from them.”
“We have dominated the game against a very worthy rival, a very tough defense. We didn’t play a great game,” he added. “With the ball it was complicated. We created chances but not as many as usual. We deserve to qualify for the final, and this will give us morale and confidence. The example we must follow for the final is the one we set last year. We must try to control Real Madrid with the ball and highlight our own identity. We are in another Clasico. We have time to plan for the game against Real Madrid, but now it’s time to celebrate.”
Meanwhile, Osasuna manager Jagoba Arrasate, whose side are 12th in the 20-team La Liga, said his team can utilize the experience gained from the match for the remainder of the regular season.
“We haven’t had the best first half of the season, but we are hoping for a better second half,” he said. “We had our moments throughout the game, but we need to be more effective to win these types of matches.”
Thursday’s first half ended goalless with Barcelona creating better chances. Ferran Torres shot centimeters wide from the edge of the box, while Sergio Herrera did well in the Osasuna goal to save Lewandowski’s side-footed shot after the Pole was slipped in by Sergio Roberto. It was not the last time Barcelona’s No. 9 threatened, with a header from Ilkay Gundogan’s out-swinging corner flashing just past the post.
As Arrasate said, however, Osasuna, had attacking opportunities — the best of which in the opening half saw Barcelona goalkeeper Inaki Pena produce a sprawling one-on-one save from Croatian striker Ante Budimir.
Barcelona took the lead just before the hour mark when Lewandowski finally got his goal, creating space at the edge of the box before clinically dispatching a right-footed shot low into the bottom corner.
Substitute Joao Felix nearly added a second after cutting in from the left but his curling effort was palmed away for a corner by a diving Herrera.
Budimir then created another chance from himself with 13 minutes remaining by cutting in from the right, but Inaki Pena clutched his curling left-footed effort.
Yamal wrapped up Barcelona’s victory in injury time by striking home with his left foot after being set up by Joao Felix.
Real Madrid, the current La Liga leaders, reached Sunday’s final after beating city rivals Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night 5-3 at the same venue in an incredible game of football.
This is the fourth time that the Spanish Super Cup has been played in Saudi Arabia. In 2020, Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid on penalties in Jeddah, and won the trophy again two years later by beating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in Riyadh.
Last year, the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh witnessed a fascinating El Clasico final as Barcelona overcame Real Madrid 3-1. Gavi, Lewandowski and Pedri were Barcelona’s goalscoring heroes, with Karim Benzema — who now plays his football for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia — netting for Real Madrid.
The final kicks off at 10 p.m. local time at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh on Sunday, Jan.14.
