Real Madrid and Barcelona are competing in Saudi Arabia for the first title of the year. They are facing each other at Al-Awwal Park for the final of the Super Cup, the tournament that brings together the best teams in Spain during the last season. For both teams it is a key match, as they not only have the chance to become champions, but also to celebrate against their rivals.
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Vinicius Jr. torments FC Barcelona as Real Madrid leads 3-1 at halftime
However, Los Blaugranas did not show their concentration during the first half. The start of the game looked like a horror movie for them and after 10 minutes they were already 2-0 down through two goals by Vinicius. In both, Barcelona's defenders made uncharacteristic mistakes for a team of that quality.
In the first one, Jude Bellingham dribbled past an opponent and assisted the Brazilian winger, who took advantage of Jules Koundé's attempt to get forward to leave him offside. The problem was that Alejandro Balde stood still and set up 'Vini', who had plenty of time to dribble past goalkeeper Iñaki Peña and score the opener. And moments later a Real Madrid player, this time Rodrygo Goes, received the ball with plenty of time and space to think, and set up Vinicius for the second goal.
These mistakes made Xavi Hernandez angry, and not even Robert Lewandowski's goal calmed him down. The Polish striker netted after 33 minutes and gave Los Blaugranas hope. However, the TV cameras showed the coach and his reaction was unexpected: he did not celebrate, but it was clear from his gestures that he was dissatisfied with the team's performance. And that got worse a few minutes later, when Vinicius scored the third goal from the spot.
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Something must change
During halftime Xavi Hernandez will surely reprimand the Barcelona players for their poor level during the first half. And he is likely to make changes to try to improve the team. The substitutes are Diego Kochen, Ander Astralaga, Hector Fort, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Casado, Fermin Lopez, Oriol Romeu, Joao Felix, Lamine Yamal, Marc Guiu and Vitor Roque.
