Gavi’s ‘contagious heart and soul’ power Barca

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said Gavi's "heart and soul" was contagious for the rest of the team after the midfielder inspired the Catalans to a 3-1 win in the Spanish Super Cup final against Real Madrid on Sunday at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.

The 18-year-old opened the scoring before creating goals for Robert Lewandowski and Pedri as Barcelona comprehensively defeated Madrid to win their first trophy under Xavi.

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"Gavi is spectacular. He can never stop growing, we all know that," Xavi began. "He is a kid that excites everyone. When you see him compete like that...the heart, soul and character that he plays with are contagious for the rest of the team.

"He's a born leader, too, that all comes naturally to him -- and at the age of 18. He is spectacular. I have said it many times, but I don't get tired of praising him. He has no ceiling, so don't slow him down."

Barca were trophy-less last season and won just one Copa del Rey in the last three years, under Ronald Koeman in 2021. Xavi hopes Sunday's trophy -- the team's first in the 21st century without Lionel Messi -- will provide the platform for further success following a difficult period in the club's history.

"We have a really good generation of players and you can see the hunger they have for trophies," Xavi added. "I hope this will be a point of inflection as you say, but this doesn't stop. On Thursday we have the Copa, next weekend LaLiga.

"I am happy for the players, though. They have received a lot of criticism, unfair in many cases, and they were liberated today. It's a massive morale boost and we can work with more peace of mind. It's also important for the fans. This club has seen everything in recent years: financial problems, the departure of Leo [Messi] was big. I hope this will be the first trophy of many."

Barca are still in pursuit of three more trophies this season. They travel to third-division side AD Ceuta in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey on Thursday and then return to action in La Liga when they host Getafe on Sunday. They are currently three points clear of Madrid at the top of the table.

They also have the Europa League coming up in February, where they have been pitted against Manchester United in the round of 32.

Carlo Ancelotti, on the other hand, was in a less buoyant mood.One journalist asked if this was a humiliation for Real Madrid. To that, Ancelotti curtly replied:

"To say this was a sporting humiliation is a lack of respect. We lost a match to Barcelona, just as we won a match against them in La Liga. Barcelona were better today. That's it. To say humiliation, that's too much. In sport, sometimes you win, sometimes the opponent wins."

Ancelotti was also unwilling to say that the situation was out of hand, attributing it to the ups and downs of a season.

"It's not a critical situation, but it's a difficult situation. You have difficult moments in a season and we have to fix this soon with commitment. When you concede three goals, you need to be better in defence. We need to work on that. We're not playing well right now. But, this team has the quality to be competitive in all the tournaments we have left. Real Madrid usually win finals, and we've lost this one, but we have a long season left."