Last minute of Betis 0 – 0 Barcelona, live | Semifinal Spanish Super Cup 2022
Barcelona y Real Betis they have in Saudi Arabia the shortest way to scratch a title this season. maybe the Spain Supercup not be the most glamorous of those who aspire, but no one bitter a sweet. Perhaps the béticos still have the belly that comes from the recent Copa del Rey, but Barcelona fans have been hungry for success for too long.
In the case of Barça, this is the typical tournament with little to win and a lot to lose. If the Catalans were knocked out in the semifinals, the daily debate around the team would become rare. Doubts would arise and it would make everything a little harder to bear. On the other hand, a hypothetical victory -and for that one would have to win today and a supposed final- would be a boost to the project and little else. A “progress properly”, come on. Another thing would be if that fictitious final were to win against Real Madrid, but right now that is imaginative football.
What is not fiction is that Xavi Hernández has not yet released his record as a Barça coach. The man from Egar has been in office for more than a year and the drought continues. Since the Barcelona conquered the last Copa del Rey Two seasons ago – Lionel Messi was still on the team – the Catalans have not added any more titles to their showcases. “We haven’t won for a little while and it would be time,” Xavi said yesterday.
And it is that the Catalan is the first to know that his position depends on winning a proper cup this year. The Super Cup It would not save it, but it would serve to complement another title of greater weight. “If this year I don’t win a title, you kill me,” pointed out the man from Terrassa, who knows perfectly well how this is going. A The door his pulse did not tremble with Koemanthe last to win something.
Of course, the Barça face this week in Arabia with all available resources. Without sanctions or injuries, there are no excuses here. Xavi He has everything he asked for from the sports management. Now it’s time for the results. The first obstacle is one of the teams that has the most football in our League, so there will be a game.
Lewandowski is back
The most important thing for the Catalan squad is that it recovers its most dangerous man. Robert Lewandowski makes a parenthesis in his sanction -which only affects the matches of Liga– and it will be from the match against the Sevillian team. Jordi Alba is also available again, although lately it seems that the starting left-back in the big events is Alejandro Balde. Therein lies one of the unknowns of Xavi’s starting eleven.
The engineer’s record
Almost 18 years later, the Betis fight again for one Spain Supercup. In the only edition of the tournament that he played, after winning the King’s Cup of 2005His executioner was precisely Barcelona, in a round-trip knockout final in August.
On this occasion, in January and with a new format, the Verdiblancos will try to surprise and reach the final on Sunday in search of their fifth official title, which would crown Manuel Pellegrini as the most successful coach in the club’s history. Copa conquered last April in The Charterhouse against Valencia put the Engineer at the level of legends of the Heliopolitan bench such as Patrick O’Connellcoach of Betis League champion in the 1934-35 season, Rafael Iriondo, who guided the Verdiblancos to their first cup trophy in the 1976-77 season, and Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, winner of the 2004-05 Cup and who, like the Irishman O’Connell was also in charge of the Barca team during his professional career.
With a 52.46 percent win rate, Pellegrini is the coach with the highest winning percentage at Real Betis in its more than 110 years of history. His balance against Barça as a coach does not invite optimism to his team, with only five wins in 30 matches. However, against Xavi, the statistics are even, with a win for each. And tonight, following his usual rotation plan, he will introduce numerous changes compared to the team that won on Sunday in Vallecas in search of a feat that will take him to the final.
a low
The only relevant absence in its starting eleven will be that of Alex Morenowho was finally left out of the call to finalize the details of his transfer to Aston Villa. A loss of great weight that the Engineer, with his usual mettle, will try to replace with a staff committed to his method that he blindly trusts in his advice. A group in which Joaquín, their eternal captain, an emotional reference point and the only player who played in the Super Cup from 2005, who is still in the squad, will mark the way to dream.
