Barcelona manager Xavi has finally lifted his first trophy as the manager of the club side after leading the Blaugrana to a 3-1 victory over Real Madrid in Riyadh on Sunday in the final of the Supercopa de Espana.

Xavi became Barcelona manager in 2021, and since then, he has had to cope with financial problems, and inconsistent results in competitions as Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid won the La Liga titles in the last two seasons while Barcelona failed to get past the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in the last 2 years.

However, Barcelona had the opportunity at the Supercopa De Espana held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and they managed to beat Real Betis in the first game, which was the semi-finals on penalties before facing arch-rivals Real Madrid in the finals after the Los Blancos defeated Valencia in penalties in their semi-finals.

Sunday night was the night of firsts as Poland striker Robert Lewandowski got his first El Clasico goal. However, it was Spanish youngster Gavi who gave Barcelona the lead in the first half before Robert Lewandowski scored on the stroke of half-time.

Pedri sealed the victory with a goal in the 69 minutes, although Karim Benzema put in a consolation for Real Madrid before the final whistle.

The win is Barcelona’s 14th Supercopa de Espana, title making them the most successful club side in the competition. Barcelona will resume cup duties against Cueta on the 19th of January.

Barcelona’s La Liga campaign will get back on track with a game at home to Getafe on the 22nd of January. Barcelona leads the La Liga table with three points ahead of Real Madrid with 41 points, while their rival has 38 points.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu