Summary: Betis - Barcelona 2:2 (4:2 on penalties) (Sport 1)
Barcelona worked very hard, but in the end they met their goal last night (Thursday): qualifying for the Super Cup final against Real Madrid this coming Sunday.
The Blaugrana made life difficult for themselves in the semi-final against Betis, twice losing the lead and going to penalties, but luckily Marc-Andre ter Stegen was there to save them, with two stops that made it 2:4 in a shootout from the penalty spot.
"Ter Stegen deserves to receive the award for the best player of the game more than me. He is just crazy," said Pedri who scored one of the goals before the penalties.
"We have a wonderful goalkeeper, one who knows how to make the difference in many games. This is our great luck," Xavi added.
Xavi looked very frustrated during extra time, and during the break between the two halves he was recorded "raging" at the players and berating them vigorously.
"You all play standing up! Nobody moves. My God, it's over, it's a title game! Fucking title game!", Xavi is seen saying, and the message seems to have sunk in, especially to Ter Stegen.
The call that woke up Barcelona.
Xavi scolds the players (photo: screenshot, from Twitter)
Respond to the call.
Ter Stegan (Photo: GettyImages, Yasser Bakhsh)
"We needed it. Someone had to put us on the spot, because after a good first half, we played very badly," said Ter Stegen, who is already looking forward to a duel against Thibaut Courtois, who is also in excellent form.
"It will be a beautiful duel between the two goalkeepers. We will both give everything," Ter Stegen said.
Barcelona took from this game mainly the improved ability of Enso Fati.
The prodigy destined to become a star has been struggling a lot lately, but yesterday he showed good ability and also scored.
"I feel very good. People talk about me too much, but the best is yet to come," Fatty declared at the end.
Xavi also praised Fati and said: "I'm happy for him, because he suffered a lot recently. He returned to his level thanks to hard work. He greatly improved his defensive abilities, since the World Cup break he's in much better shape."
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world football
Spanish league
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Barcelona in football