RIYADH: Xavi Hernandez praised the warm welcome that Barcelona have received in Saudi Arabia as his side look to win back-to-back Spanish Super Cup finals against rivals Real Madrid in Riyadh.
The Barcelona manager this time last year guided his team to a 3-1 El Clasico victory over Real Madrid in the Saudi Arabian capital city. And after beating CA Osasuna 2-0 in their semifinal on Thursday, Xavi says Barcelona are determined to retain the Spanish Super Cup and win the competition for the 15th time in their history — more than any other club.
The El Clasico final takes place at Al-Nassr’s Al-Awwal Park on Sunday at 10 p.m. Saudi Arabian time.
Speaking at the pre-final press conference, Xavi said: “We are here in Saudi Arabia and all the time everybody respects us, and everybody supports us. We are very happy to be here, and I think Saudi football is going to improve a lot in the coming years because they have everything in order to have the best players in the world.
“An El Clasico match with such intensity as this cannot be predicted and its outcome will be played out on the field. We will compete for a cup that we won last year, and last year we played excellently. We will show our opponents that we are hungry and excited to win, but playing against Real Madrid is always a strong match and we will give everything we have to win the title.
“We do not focus on one player in Real Madrid because they have many excellent players, led by Jude Bellingham, who is performing at a great level.”
Barcelona’s goals at Al-Awwal Park on Thursday came from Robert Lewandowski and 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who came off the bench to net in injury time and seal the result. Xavi has no doubts of Yamal’s talents, regardless of whether he starts or is asked to come on as a substitute.
“Yamal is a great player and we want to see his potential and skills, and this depends on the game situation,” Xavi said.
Real Madrid earned their place in this year’s Spanish Super Cup final by defeating city rivals Atletico Madrid 5-3 in Wednesday’s semifinal in Riyadh, and the Barcelona manager took the opportunity to praise his opposition counterpart Carlo Ancelotti at the press conference.
Xavi added: “Ancelotti is one of the best managers in the world and has succeeded in all the places in which he has coached. He is a role model for coaches and a great coach.”
This year’s Spanish Super Cup — the fourth time the tournament has been played in Saudi Arabia — is the latest illustration of the Kingdom’s commitment to host the very best international events across all sports, with football at the forefront.
Last year’s Barcelona win was preceded by Real Madrid beating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in Riyadh in 2022 and Los Blancos defeating Atletico Madrid on penalties in Jeddah in the first tournament on Saudi soil in 2020.
Xavi ‘very happy to be in Saudi Arabia’ as Barcelona aim to retain Spanish Super Cup in another El Clasico
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Xavi ‘very happy to be in Saudi Arabia’ as Barcelona aim to retain Spanish Super Cup in another El Clasico
- The Spanish champions play Real Madrid in the final at Al-Awwal Park on Sunday
- “Yamal is a great player and we want to see his potential and skills, and this depends on the game situation,” Xavi said
Newcastle complete cruise into Champions League last 16
- The Magpies will make up a six-strong contingent of English sides in the last 16 alongside Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham
NEWCASTLE, United Kingdom: Newcastle United completed their stroll into the Champions League last 16 with a 3-2 win over Qarabag on Tuesday to progress 9-3 on aggregate over the Azeri champions.
The Magpies will make up a six-strong contingent of English sides in the last 16 alongside Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham.
A tie that involved an over 5,000-mile (8,000 kilometer) round trip for both sides was killed off inside 45 minutes last week as Newcastle led 5-0 at half-time on their way to a 6-1 rout.
That allowed Eddie Howe to heavily rotate his side, with four-goal hero from the first leg Anthony Gordon among those left on the bench.
Newcastle still made another fast start to add to their lead twice inside six minutes.
Sandro Tonali fired in the rebound after Dan Burn’s shot was saved before Joelinton stroked in Harvey Barnes’ cross.
Qarabag had taken the scalps of Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt in the league phase to make the play-off round and at least salvaged some pride with two goals in the second half.
Camilo Duran outpaced Burn to pull a goal back before the Newcastle defender was penalized for handball inside the box.The Magpies will make up a six-strong contingent of English sides in the last 16 alongside Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham.
Aaron Ramsdale saved Marko Jankovic’s penalty but Elvin Jafarguliyev netted the rebound.
In between the visitors’ two goals, Sven Botman powered in a header from a corner.
That took the tally of goals conceded by Qarabag in the Champions League to 30 — a single season record in the competition.
