Real Madrid

The first trophy of the season in the Spanish domestic calendar will be awarded as old heavyweight rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona meet in Saudi Arabia.

— Gavi — 9. Dembele — 8. Christensen — 28. Modric — 15. ESPN's [streaming service ESPN+](http://go.web.plus.espn.com/jW2Gna) will also carry streams in English and Spanish for subscribers. Mendy — 8. A Real Madrid team already missing the injured Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba saw three more players pick up injuries in Wednesday's semifinal. 105 mins to kick: Real Madrid, for whatever reason, has already announced their starting lineup for the match, even though it doesn't start for quite some time. 13 mins to kick: Real Madrid are in good shape, but it must hurt to see talent abroad excelling for other teams, particularly in the Premier League. Courtois (GK) — 2. Robert Lewandowski takes the field for Barcelona looking to win his first piece of silverware at the Catalan club.

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Roles reversed as this time Gavi lays the ball on a plate for Lewandowski to tap into the net. A great half for Xavi's side. Goal GOAL FOR BARCELONA! GOAL FOR REAL MADRID!

It was a one-sided affair where Barca were as sharp as they've been all season.

Even past those two, Alejandro Balde is 19 and Ronald Araujo is the elder statesman at 23, which is quite a base for Barcelona to build around for future success and the group already has a trophy to show for their efforts. These were the kind of matches that Real Madrid were expected to miss Casemiro in as he has changed Manchester United's midfield identity and the loss to Barcelona won't ease those worries. After winning everything there is to win as a player for Barcelona, Xavi has won his first trophy as manager of the club in a 3-1 victory over Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday.

Barcelona were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions after goals from Gavi, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri earned them a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Real Madrid ...

Yet, once again a costly mistake allowed Barcelona to score. Frenkie de Jong saw his team mate ghost into the empty space behind Carvajal and delivered a superb ball through. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

Gavi ran circles around Real Madrid in the Supercopa and the teenager helped coach Xavi Hernandez win his first trophy since taking over.

ET ( [watch live on ESPN+](https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/6718060a-54fe-49a0-a3d3-d0cc4338b827)). ( [watch live on ESPN+](https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/0c7b668d-ded8-4675-bf33-19a617719a58)). [watch live on ESPN+](https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/cad6e50a-4356-4c71-9a0a-3b31d4ff5088)). [watch live on ESPN+](https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/f245887b-f117-4bc5-b130-0591a96e2469)). [Aurelien Tchouameni](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/265919/Aurélien-Tchouaméni) through injury is being felt more with every game. [Thibaut Courtois](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/134283/Thibaut-Courtois) aside, this was a game without positives for Madrid. For Barca's third scored by Pedri, it was substitute [Dani Ceballos](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/202717/Dani-Ceballos) who played Madrid into trouble, with Eder Militao playing his part. Forwards Benzema and [Vinicius Junior](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/252107/Vinícius-Júnior) look disconnected from the rest of the team when out of possession, too. Xavi's decision to pick four midfielders instead of three forwards paid dividends, as did choosing youngster Alejandro Balde at left-back over [Jordi Alba](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/121021/Jordi-Alba) and [Marcos Alonso](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/146127/Marcos-Alonso). [Eduardo Camavinga](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/285150/Eduardo-Camavinga) had to endure another embarrassing halftime substitution, while it also felt notable that as the game went on, it was [Luka Modric](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/76762/Luka-Modric), [Toni Kroos](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/103173/Toni-Kroos) and [Dani Carvajal](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/168531/Dani-Carvajal) -- all veteran winners -- who were subbed off. But the reality is that with the Supercopa lost, they'll return to Spain to find Barcelona out in front in LaLiga too, and with a tough Copa del Rey last 16 tie away at [Best/worst performers](#bestworst)

Carlo Ancelotti denied that Real Madrid's 3-1 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa final was a "sporting humiliation" on Sunday.

"This team has the quality to come back and be competitive in all competitions. [Real Madrid](/soccer/team?id=86)'s [3-1 loss](http://www.espn.com/match/_/gameId/637513) to [Barcelona](/soccer/team?id=83) in the Spanish Supercopa final was a "sporting humiliation" on Sunday, blaming individual errors and insisting the team would bounce back. "It isn't a good moment for the team. "We lost against Barcelona, just like we beat them in the league [3-1 on Oct. We didn't play the ball out well, they hit us twice on the counter and the game changed. "[To say] 'sporting humiliation' would be a lack of respect," Ancelotti said in his postmatch news conference.

Carlo Ancelotti says his Real Madrid side will have to learn from their mistakes after losing 3-1 to Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final, ...

“We were not very intense, not very accurate, we had 25 losses in the first half. We were not very convincing in one-on-ones. He said: “We were punished for the mistakes we made.

Liga, Champions League, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Europa, Supercopa de España y Mundial de Clubs representaban el reto. Y lo comenzó con éxito al imponerse en ...

Y el soñado sextete seguirá siendo fruta prohibida para el Real Madrid. Liga, Champions League, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Europa, Supercopa de España y Mundial de Clubs representaban el reto. [Villarreal](/futbol/equipo/_/id/102/villarreal) en la eliminatoria de octavos de final de la Copa del Rey.

Robert Lewandowski, Gavi and Pedri scored a goal each at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh on Sunday to give Barcelona its first Super Cup trophy since 2018, and the ...

Now the runners-up in both competitions also participate. Madrid played as the league champion and Barcelona as the league runner-up. “You know how [Gavi] competes, he’s very young.

There is certainly cause for excitement as fans watched their team breeze past their fierce rivals in the one-sided final in Saudi Arabia. Gavi, who was named ...

“Sportswashing” is the phenomenon of burnishing one’s reputation through sport. [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/amnesty-international-urges-spanish-clubs-take-stand-saudi-arabia-2022-01-09/). [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/saudi-spanish-super-cup-sparks-debate-fans-forgotten-2022-01-11/). [human rights record](https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/06/football/ronaldo-saudi-soccer-sport-mime-intl/index.html) and implications of [sportswashing](https://cnn.com/videos/sports/2020/04/27/sportswashing-history-saudi-arabia-newcastle-united-russia-china-football-world-cup-spt-intl.cnn). [financial controversy](https://cnn.com/2022/08/11/football/barcelona-real-madrid-la-liga-preview-spt-intl/index.html) in recent years. [Barcelona](https://cnn.com/2022/08/11/football/barcelona-real-madrid-la-liga-preview-spt-intl/index.html) produced an impressive performance to beat [Real Madrid](http://www.cnn.com/2023/01/07/football/real-madrid-villarreal-la-liga-spt-intl/index.html) 3-1 and lift the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.

Real Madrid's Super Cup loss to Barcelona only highlighted areas that have been long-standing concerns.

[Eden Hazard](https://theathletic.com/football/player/eden-hazard-jHFQTkPhLgbx37BB/) (who has scored one goal in 296 minutes) and [Mariano Diaz](https://theathletic.com/football/player/mariano-diaz-EzwZ5Jy8y1t0UgTv/) (who has failed to score in 25 minutes) are practically out of Ancelotti’s rotation system. [Rodrygo](https://theathletic.com/football/player/rodrygo-JS0gfsSSMTJWAReh/) and Benzema in attack. With [Kylian Mbappe](https://theathletic.com/football/player/kylian-mbappe-vqEQPtKAKLluodtc/) still at Paris Saint-Germain, Real will have to make use of the resources they have in the first team — or else bet on their youth system, with [Sergio Arribas](https://theathletic.com/football/player/sergio-arribas-4xxjcM6UE7dcG1FC/) one of the players knocking on the door. [Dani Carvajal](https://theathletic.com/football/player/dani-carvajal-eEphlMNZO0Md1PPr/) and [Ferland Mendy](https://theathletic.com/football/player/ferland-mendy-3NoIoLsocoyoR4Ae/), who have experienced a dip in form this season. Both suffered when faced with the speed of younger players such as [Alejandro Balde](https://theathletic.com/football/player/alejandro-balde-8v0WQV7fSHX3uugz/) and [Gavi](https://theathletic.com/football/player/gavi-9ACowrmXJKJKTUi5/) in this match, with the midfielder involved in all three Barcelona goals. That was made clear when Ancelotti withdrew Camavinga at half-time — the seventh time that has happened since the [France](https://theathletic.com/football/team/france/) midfielder joined Madrid — and when the Real boss replaced Modric in the 65th minute. [Aurelien Tchouameni](https://theathletic.com/football/player/aurelien-tchouameni-3s27o6UtUPTcnWv5/) was missing with a muscle injury, but Madrid have experienced the same situation in games when he has played, so it is expected there will be changes in midfield. The first goal stemmed from an individual error by the German centre-back, who arrived this summer on a free transfer from [Chelsea](https://theathletic.com/football/team/chelsea/) but who is struggling to adapt, with back-up defender [Nacho](https://theathletic.com/football/player/nacho-CrpeNMuE0s6cMrf0/) waiting for his chance. Apart from Benzema, only Rodrygo has scored for Madrid since the World Cup — a fine solo effort against Cacereno — and more is needed. In the meantime, Ancelotti will have to rely on the fitness of Carvajal and Mendy while looking to improve the support system around them on the pitch. Barca took full advantage of a lacklustre Real performance, just as [Villarreal](https://theathletic.com/football/team/villarreal-cf/) had done in La Liga eight days earlier to beat them 2-1. And although there have been seven clean sheets and Courtois is in good form, defensive fragility is one of the biggest concerns.