Barcelona have beaten Real Madrid 2-1 in the Copa del Rey Super Cup and Xavi has lifted his first trophy as Barcelona coach. The game kicked off seven minutes late due to a pitch inspection, with the delay leaving both sets of players standing around waiting. There were plenty of empty seats at Camp Nou because it was played on a weekday evening rather than a weekend but there was a good atmosphere nonetheless as fans made their way home after work or school.
Minutes away from the start of the game at Camp Nou
You’re minutes away from the start of the game at Camp Nou. The players are on the pitch, warming up as they prepare to face each other in front of over 80,000 fans. The stadium announcer is ready to introduce both teams and kick off proceedings when he gets his cue from the referee who has just left his dressing room and made his way onto the field.
Sir Alex Ferguson is here to see his former pupil Ronaldo
Sir Alex Ferguson is here to see his former pupil Ronaldo, who has been struggling with injury and form since the end of last season. At the Bernabeu when Barca won La Liga in May, Ferguson was also at the Champions League final in Berlin as well as South Africa for the 2010 World Cup final – where he was a guest of FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
It’s been a while since we had a Clasico this close to the start of the season: 4 August 2011, to be precise.
It’s been a while since we had a Clasico this close to the start of the season: 4 August 2011, to be precise. That was when Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-2 on aggregate in the Super Cup final and Xavi lifted his first trophy as a Barca player.
It’s been even longer since these two teams faced each other in any competitive fixture: 29 August 2009 when they played out an entertaining 4-4 draw at Camp Nou after going down 2-0 early on in that game too!
Two years ago Madrid beat Barca 5-4 on aggregate in this competition
Two years ago, Madrid beat Barca 5-4 on aggregate in this competition.
That was the first time in the history of this competition that there was a draw in the first leg.
Nolito was once a Real Madrid youth player.
Nolito was once a Real Madrid youth player. In 2007, he was released by the club and went on to play for Barcelona’s B team before being promoted to their first team in 2010. He later moved to Villarreal, where he won La Liga in 2013-14 before joining Manchester City last summer for about $20 million.
Nolito scored two goals against his former club on Wednesday night as Barcelona won 4-1 at Camp Nou Stadium in the Spanish Super Cup first leg match between Spain’s two biggest clubs that they lead 3-1 after second leg next week at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium where Real Madrid will play host
Gerard Pique played for Manchester United!
In 2004, Pique was signed by Manchester United as a 17-year-old. He played in the reserve team and even made it to the first team occasionally, but he never really had much of a chance to impress at Old Trafford before being loaned out in 2006.
He spent two years with Spanish side Zaragoza before returning to Barcelona for good in 2008. It’s fair to say that this has been one of the best decisions ever made by any footballer ever!
Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez will face each other for the first time in a competitive match tonight.
Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez will face each other for the first time in a competitive match tonight.
Bale, who joined Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur for a world-record fee of £85m last summer, will make his debut against Suarez’s Barcelona side at the Mestalla Stadium.
The Welshman has been sidelined since scoring on his La Liga debut against Deportivo La Coruna on September 21 because of an ankle injury but returned to training on Monday.
Xavi was just two when Barcelona last won a Super Cup against Real Madrid back in 1989.
Xavi was just two when Barcelona last won a Super Cup against Real Madrid back in 1989 and the midfielder is delighted to have finally lifted his first piece of silverware since joining the club.
“The most important thing is that we won,” Xavi told reporters after the match. “It would have been very sad if we hadn’t won this trophy, especially with everything going on at the club right now.”
Barcelona have won this competition five times and are bidding for an unprecedented sixth title against Atletico Madrid next month at Camp Nou. Real Madrid have also lifted it four times but failed to make it five after being beaten 1-0 by their bitter rivals on Wednesday night
The new coach steps up early.
The new coach steps up early.
Luis Enrique has won the Super Cup. Xavi lifts his first trophy as Barca captain, having missed out on last year’s Copa del Rey final due to injury. And Real Madrid’s new boss Rafa Benitez still hasn’t got off to a winning start at his new club, which is kind of important when you’re trying to convince people that you are good at what you do and should be allowed to stay around for longer than six months.
Conclusion
And so there we have it. The new season kicks off with a bang, and Barcelona are already looking stronger than ever. Real Madrid will be hoping to turn around their fortunes in the coming weeks, but they’ll need some serious help from elsewhere if they want to catch up with Barca. As always, we’ll be here with all the latest news from Spain’s top flight as it happens!