Barcelona have been crowned Spanish Super Cup champions after goals from Gavi, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri earned them a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia.
Barcelona were dominant in every aspect of the game on Sunday at the King Fahd International Stadium and took advantage of three mistakes by Real Madrid to score.
They took the lead in the 33rd minute after defender Antonio Ruediger passed across his own area to Barca’s Sergio Busquets, who started a move that ended with Gavi all alone inside the box to score with a precise left-foot strike.
Lewandowski extended the lead 12 minutes later on the counter when Frenkie de Jong found Gavi, who ghosted in behind Madrid’s defensive line.
He sprinted through the left channel before putting it on a plate for the Polish striker, who tapped into the back of the empty net.
Real Madrid, who had no shots on target in the first half, spent most of the second in panic mode, trying to avoid a bigger defeat.
Yet, once again a costly mistake allowed Barcelona to score. Substitute Dani Ceballos lost the ball in midfield and Gavi sprinted forward and crossed for Pedri to fire point-blank into the empty net.
Karim Benzema scored a consolation goal in added time, striking home on the rebound after Marc-Andre ter Stegen denied his first attempt.
The focus for both clubs returns to La Liga next week, where Barcelona currently leads defending champions Madrid by three points at the top after 16 rounds.
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