Barcelona duo ready for Real Madrid in Spanish Super Cup final despite sustaining knocks

Barcelona had to toil to secure a place in the finals of the Spanish Super Cup last night as they defeated Real Betis on penalties, after the game had ended 2-2 in 120 minutes of action.

It was the second game in a little over a week that had gone into extra time for Barça as they were pushed to the limits in the Copa del Rey encounter against Intercity. In between these two games, they were put through a stern test by Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

All these high-intensity encounters with the added extra minutes are certain to take a toll on the players’ fitness.

And, during his post-match press conference last night, manager Xavi Hernandez revealed that two of his key players, Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong, had to be taken off against Betis as they were feeling some discomfort.

“Frenkie and Dembélé were taken off because they have a little discomfort. I don’t think they’re injured, and they should be available on Sunday,” he had said.

Reaffirming the statements made by manager Xavi, journalist Helena Condis of COPE has confirmed that both Dembele and de Jong had been limping but are ready to face Real Madrid in the finals of the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.

The journalist states that the Barça duo have informed Xavi that they want to play against Real Madrid and will take part in the El Clasico final despite the knocks they have sustained.

This development will certainly come as music to the ears of the manager and the fans. After all, Dembele was one of Barça’s better players last night against Betis and set up Robert Lewandowski’s opener while de Jong had also looked solid in the pivot midfield position.

Barcelona have faced Real Madrid once this season when they fell to a 3-1 defeat. They will be looking to avenge that loss in the Super Cup finals, thereby winning the first trophy of the Xavi Hernandez era.