Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao met at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia yesterday evening, in the semi-finals of the first tournament. Spanish Super CupHansi Flick’s team won quite convincingly.
The manager fielded his best squad available that night, even with Lamine Yamal returning from injury, Rafinha making his first appearance after the Christmas break, and mainstays in defense and midfield returning to action.
the Blaugrana He created seven big chances against the Basque opposition, making 14 shots, and should have won by a larger margin. Regardless, they are now in the final stretch and have time to rest and recover before the title clash.
Barcelona Global Brings you three talking points from Barcelona 2-0 Athletic Club.
Supercopa Gavi is different
The Barcelona camp were visibly happy last night after news arrived that the team had received precautionary measure from CSD regarding the availability of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor.
With both players unavailable for the match against Athletic Club, the coach made the decision to take on who would play as the attacking midfielder that night. His decision was crystal clear when he chose Gavi.
the No Masia The graduate student has been slowly working his way up since returning from an ACL injury and his confidence has been steadily rising with each passing game. However, last night the world witnessed the old Javi organization once again.
For at least a second in the match, the former Golden Boy winner looked less than the player he was before the injury. Starting in attacking midfield, he dominated Barcelona’s build-up, created holes in the defence, and single-handedly stole the show.
In the 17th minute of the match, the player number 6 opened the scoring for the team, and it was clear how important the goal was to him, as it was his first goal since his injury. He was in the right place at the right time and teed up Alejandro Balde’s pass.
After the start of the second half, Yamal brilliantly set up Barcelona’s second goal with a deft touch, playing the winger directly in front of goal and putting him on a plate.
Aside from his goal and assist, Javi made three key passes, completed 90% of his passes, and created one big chance.
When we remember how he single-handedly beat Real Madrid in the same competition two years ago, it is clear that the Spanish Super Cup brings out the best in Gavi.
Chesney moment begins?
Despite being set to start for Barcelona against Athletic Club, Iñaki Pena was left out of the starting lineup after failing to show up on time. Thus the doors opened for Wojciech Szczesny and the veteran showed his class on the night.
Having made his debut earlier this week in the Copa del Rey, it will always be interesting to see how well he fares against elite opposition. However, Chesney was unfazed and put in a man of the match display.
The Polish goalkeeper was solid in 1v1 duels, decent in his distribution, and appeared when the team needed him most, thus helping Barcelona stay in the game at all times.
In 90 minutes, Szczesny made five saves, one of which came from inside the penalty area, and completed all six of his attempts. He also provided two high-scoring goals and completed 86% of his passes.
At a time when Iñaki Pena is slowly losing the trust of the management, Szczesny’s performance could be exactly what the player needs to become Barcelona’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Silverware within reach
One down. One to go. Barcelona are now halfway to winning the Spanish Super Cup, and it’s hard to ignore that the title is just around the corner.
After their slump in form at the end of last year, the dressing room is determined to come back stronger than before in the new year, and a win early in 2025 would go a long way to boosting their morale.
In many ways, it would validate Hansi Flick’s project, show the team that they are heading in the right direction, and motivate them to give their best for the rest of the season with solid proof that it is enough to win titles.
Having faced a strong side in Athletic Club in the semi-finals, the team will be feeling good about their chances as they wait to see who they will face in the end.
In all likelihood, it will be Real Madrid who edge out Mallorca for a place in the title clash and the Catalans would love the chance to win the title by defeating their arch rival outright.