Xavi Hernandez won his first trophy as the coach of Barcelona as the Catalans defeated Real Madrid to win the Supercopa de Espana at King Fahd Stadium in Saudi Arabia.
Gavi, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri found the net for Barcelona during the 3-1 win with Karim Benzema netting a late consolation for the La Liga champions.
Both Barcelona and Madrid earned narrow wins in the semifinals but Xavi’s men seized the initiative early in the final.
Their switch from the usual 4-3-3 allowed Barcelona to overrun the midfield and control the game with Gavi at the heart of everything.
The 18-year-old put the La Liga leaders ahead in the 33rd minute when Lewandowski’s pass put him one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois and the Spanish international beat him with a shot at his far post.
Lewandowski extended their lead just 12 minutes later on the counter when Frenkie de Jong found Gavi, who eased in behind Real’s defensive line before squaring the ball for the Polish striker who had the simplest of jobs of tapping it home.
Madrid showed no improvements in the second period failing to test Marc Andre ter Stegan in Barca’s goal for the majority of the game.
Pedri put the contest to bed in the 69th minute when substitute Dani Ceballos lost the ball in midfield allowing Gavi to find his midfield partner who fired point-blank into the empty net.
Benzema spared his side humiliation when he put away the only clear chance in the last minute of the game.
The win delivered Barcelona its 14th Supercopa de Espana title with Madrid second on the all-time list with 12.
