Real Madrid suffered a painful defeat against Barcelona on Sunday and therefore had to leave the Spanish Super Cup to the arch-rival. Carlo Ancelotti was critical of his team, but did not want to dramatize. That a journalist started about a ‘humiliation’ did not sit well with the trainer.
Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday evening at the expense of Real Madrid and the starring role in the final was for Gavi, who scored and provided two assists. Xavi raved about the teenager afterwards.
Gavi opened the scoring in Riyadh on Sunday evening and then also prepared the goals of Robert Lewandowski and Pedri. “I am speechless,” said Xavi when he was asked questions about Gavi, who was only eighteen, after the 1-3 victory. “He is pure passion and has a huge influence on the team, even though he is only 18 years old. Gavi is a player who makes us all very excited.”
Xavi exclaims, “Gavi is an innate leader”
“He puts his heart and soul into every game and takes the rest of the team with him,” Xavi continued. “Gavi is an innate leader, it comes from within. I never tire of praising him. This is a player without a ceiling.”
Xavi had enjoyed Gavi, but also the rest of his team. “We played with four midfielders today and it worked out well for us,” said the coach. “The players interpreted it very well. Winning an award is important, but the way we win is just as important to me. We can be very proud of this.”
Real played a disappointing game in Riyadh, going down 1-3. The Madrid goal, made by Karim Benzema, only came in injury time. Ancelotti was asked afterwards whether it felt like a humiliation. “It’s disrespectful to say that,” the Italian grumbled. “We beat this Barcelona side in the league, but today they were better. Period.”
“It wasn’t a good game for anyone,” Ancelotti continued. “And our own mistakes have been decisive. We knew before the game that the team was not at its best; we have some shortcomings that need to be improved. But we will be back I’m sure. This is a stick behind the door. We have to be there again against Villarreal.”
The atmosphere in the dressing room was not too good. “The team is very disappointed,” said Ancelotti. “Usually this team wins a final. But we have all the means to improve and recover. When you concede three goals, it is clear that the defense is not good. Players should realize that the mistakes we made are easy to avoid. We will look closely at that in the analysis.”
