It’s all about perspective, and you bet there are many of those whenever Real Madrid plays Barcelona in the most prominent fixture of Spanish football. As the Catalans lifted the Supercopa de Espana with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Real on Sunday night, the reactions from both camps indicate the clubs’ points of view differ significantly. We wouldn’t have it any other way.Barcelona convincingly beat Real Madrid 3-1 in Saudi Arabia to win the Spanish Super Cup, their first trophy since coach Xavi took over. Inspired by teenager Gavi, who scored himself and set up goals for Robert Lewandowski and Pedri Gonzalez, the Catalans produced one of their best performances in years against their bitter Clasico rivals.Xavi’s first 🏆s pic.twitter.com/chqVPdGwx9— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 15, 2023 But more than the trophy itself, Xavi highlighted his team’s style of play and mentality after the win over last season’s La Liga winners.”I’m happy for the players. They have received a lot of criticism, much of it unfair. Today they have released themselves from it, giving us confidence. We come from a difficult period for the club. Messi’s departure was tough to digest, so I hope this is the first title of many. We must not stop here – we have to keep working.”##NAJAVA_MECA_6945077##Xavi took the time to praise young Gavi for another stellar performance and praised how calm his team was in such a significant fixture.”Gavi has a soul and a character that spreads to the team. He is spectacular and is still only 18 years old. I never tire of praising him, and he does not stop. This boy has no roof. I prefer how we played more than the title itself. Although some people say I only care about the result – that’s not the case. We at Barca care about how we play.”Since Ancelotti returned to Real Madrid in 2021, they have only lost by multiple goals TWICE.Both losses were to Barcelona 😬 pic.twitter.com/DjnebYGxX3— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 15, 2023 The key point for the Blaugrana now is that they can afford to think of themselves as title contenders. Xavi says the players have finally realised it.”They have shown that if they can do it against the European and La Liga champions – they can do it against anyone.” Real Madrid’s all-conquering coach Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t want to dwell too much on the defeat. He rejected the notion that his team was humiliated in Riyadh.”I think we have to learn from this difficult moment, but that’s it. We don’t have to do many things. It was known that the team was not at its best and this game has shown us some shortcomings. We will return, it is a stick but we have to prepare the next match. But it’s disrespectful to say that we were humiliated. We lost to Barca tonight, but we beat them in the league. They played better and deserved it on the day, period. We move on.”Gavi vs. Real Madrid 18 years old pic.twitter.com/tj9LwOKWHL— ً (@LSComps) January 15, 2023 Of course, the most praise goes to Barcelona’s wonderkid Gavi. His captain Sergio Busquets was delighted after seeing the 18-year-old midfielder open the scoring before laying on assists for Robert Lewandowski and Pedri.”Gavi is a competitive animal. Most players are in the youth team at that age, but he’s here, playing at an incredible level, scoring goals and giving assists. I would tell him to keep on learning and listening. I hope he marks an era in Barca.”
