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. It's a victory that shows both that Barcelona are back and that their academy approach is bearing fruit at the highest levels again with Gavi having a goal and two assists to match Robert Lewandowski's goal and an assist.
This is Barcelona's 14th Super Cup win as the club are the most successful team in Spain in the competition's history. Real Madrid could've matched them with the same amount of wins but Carlo Ancelotti's midfield didn't show up for this edition of El Clasico.
Missing Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga had to deputize in midfield and wasn't up for the match, getting dispossessed for Barcelona's second goal and being suspect defensively. Camavinga was withdrawn at the half for Rodrygo but at that point, the damage was already done. 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.
For Barcelona, also getting a goal from Gavi, they're already clear atop La Liga and a comprehensive victory over Real Madrid only reinforces their belief of returning to the Spanish summit.
Karim Benzema scored a late consolation goal for Los Blancos.
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Here are a few takeaways from the match:
The youth movement is paying off
Real Madrid's starting lineup only had one Spanish player, right back Dani Carvajal. Meanwhile, Xavi has wanted Barcelona to get back to their roots of relying on La Masia and it paid dividends in this match. Gavi ran the show at only 18 as he shows that he's both the present and future of Barcelona and Spain. But then the team also has Pedri who had an excellent game and was able to cap things off with an insurance goal which made a difference. 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.
Speaking of trophies
This match is an announcement of Barcelona's La Liga title charge. It's a two-horse race in Spain and this Barcelona team are strong enough to topple Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti may not have had his first-choice midfield available but Barcelona have enough depth where players can step up and fill in when needed. Looking at the subs that Xavi used in the match, Franck Kessie, Sergi Roberto, and Raphinha could all be starters on other top teams. It has been a while since Barcelona have been feared at this level but the squad is slowly being built to compete while defensively, Real Madrid have been suspect, and relying on Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois can get the team a long way but the midfield feels too thin for Los Blancos to compete at top levels.
Missing Casemiro
One of the reasons that Real Madrid's midfield has struggled is that Casemiro is now steadying Manchester United's midfield. The calm at the eye of a storm, not only did Casemiro protect the defense but he's also able to orchestrate attacks and keep the ball moving. Tchouameni is good at a lot of these things and his presence is why Real Madrid felt comfortable selling Casemiro but teams also need two players for every role at top levels. So far, Camavinga has failed to hit expectations since moving from France leaving Los Blancos weak when Tchouameni can't go. Add in Casemiro's importance to the locker room and it has been an impossible void for Real to fill. While the team will likely add to the midfield during the summer, they need to compete now and that may not happen if Barcelona can keep up their current pace.
