Real Madrid didn’t come close to proving themselves in the match in Saudi Arabia. Two goals before the end of the first half and one after changing teams ensured the Catalans a solid 3-1 victory and their first trophy of the season.
Karim Benzema scored a consolation goal for “Los Blancos” just before the end.
Just over half an hour into the match, the Catalans won the ball high on the field. Real Madrid ended up off balance, and after two assists, Lewandowski found Gavi with a clever ball on the field. The 18-year-old used a single touch before firing the ball controlled past Thibaut Courtois into the goal to take a deserved lead.
Gavi thus entered the history books as the third-youngest ever scorer in a El Clásico match.
double
Ten minutes later, the roles were reversed when Barcelona doubled their lead. Frenkie de Jong played the ball to Gavi, who suddenly had plenty of space in front of him. The midfielder took the ball into the penalty area before finding Lewandowski in front of the goal. None of the Real Madrid players followed the attacker, who got an easy job of rolling the 2-0 goal down.
After turning the page it was more of the same. With 22 minutes left, Lewandowski found Jaffe again. This time the 18-year-old didn’t finish himself, but instead found Pedri at the back post. He managed to score the third goal in the match.
Once again, Real Madrid ended up lopsided, and once again it was the Barcelona player who scored an unmarked goal inside the penalty area.
The goal of solace
Just before the end, Benzema scored a consolation goal for Real Madrid. Marc-Andre ter Stegen gave a straight return to the legs of the super striker, who put on a speed reducer.
Real Madrid won the previous El Clásico 3-1 in October. This was the last time Barcelona lost in the league. Xavi’s men lead the Spanish League, three points ahead of “Los Blancos”.
Real Madrid reached the final after beating Valencia on penalties on Wednesday. Barcelona also had to go to penalties to reach the final. They beat Betis on Thursday.
The mini-tournament matches were held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(© NTB)
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