New world number one Carlos Alcaraz says he played "perfect" in Sunday's final demolition of Daniil Medvedev to cap a "perfect tournament" as he lifted the Indian Wells title for the first time.
Despite Medvedev coming into Sunday's decider on a 19-match winning streak, Alcaraz dominated 6-3 6-2 to win in 72 minutes.
Alcaraz's Indian Wells triumph was his third ATP Masters 1000 crown from three finals, not dropping a set in any of those deciders.
The 19-year-old Spaniard went through the Indian Wells Open without dropping a set and reflected that it was a "perfect" fortnight for him.
"It feels amazing to lift the trophy here [and] to recover the number one," Alcaraz told reporters, having reclaimed the top rank from Novak Djokovic due to his victory.
"It has been the perfect tournament. It was a goal for me, this tournament that I really wanted to win. For me, it's amazing."
The lopsided nature of Alcaraz's victory over Medvedev in the final caught many by surprise, hitting 19-4 winners against the in-form fifth seed.
"Honestly I didn’t expect that," Alcaraz said. "I expected a tough match but I played perfect. I said before against Daniil you have to play your best and tactically at your best level as well. I did perfect today. That's why it looks easy but it wasn’t."
Alcaraz added he was delighted to reclaim the number one rank which he had lost after Djokovic won the 2023 Australian Open which he missed due to injury.
Djokovic was unable to participate at Indian Wells due to being unvaccinated for COVID-19, with the pair actually not facing off at any events this year.
Alcaraz returned from abdominal and hamstring injuries last month at the Argentina Open and Rio Open before competing at Indian Wells, while Djokovic was in action at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The next opportunity for the pair to face off as at April's Monte Carlo Masters.
"Novak is one of the best players in the world," Alcaraz said. "That's obvious. I always say, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I really wanted to play against Novak again. We miss him on tour and hopefully to have him back very, very soon."
Alcaraz added: "It feels great to be back on the number one. Of course, every player on the ATP wants to be the number one. For me, it's a dream come true again. Obviously being in front of such great players like Novak, the top player, it's an amazing feeling."
Despite Djokovic being unable to compete at Indian Wells, Medvedev said he felt Alcaraz's return to the top rank was a true number one.
"One hundred per cent," Medvedev said. "It's unfortunate Novak can't play all the tournaments. If you get injured, Rafa is injured for some time, we cannot say if Rafa isn’t injured he would be number one, because we cannot know. Same about Novak.
"For sure if he was able to play last year and this year all the tournaments there is a possibility that the rankings would be different but Carlos is deservedly number one, he won more points than everybody else in the last 52 weeks and he was also year-end number one last year."
Hall of Fame Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo earned his 15th trip to the Sweet 16 after eliminating two-seed Marquette 69-60 in Sunday's second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans rode a 23-point performance from senior point guard Tyson Walker, while Joey Hauser – brother of Boston Celtics wing Sam Hauser – collected 14 points and 10 rebounds.
As well as pulling into a tie for the sixth-most Sweet 16 appearances in head coaching history, Izzo also claimed the record for the most ever NCAA Tournament wins as the lower seed, with this his 16th.
He is one more Sweet 16 trip away from tying Louisville legend Denny Crum for the fifth-most, with only North Carolina's Roy Williams (19), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (20), Michael Jordan's North Carolina coach Dean Smith (21) and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (26) having more.
The seven-seed Spartans will next face three-seed Kansas State after they won the battle of the Wildcats 75-69 against six-seed Kentucky.
Reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe was monstrous with 25 points and 18 rebounds, while projected first-round draft pick Cason Wallace impressed with 21 points (nine-of-11 shooting), nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.
But their performances were not enough to lift Kentucky to the victory, as diminutive five-foot-eight point guard Markquis Nowell dropped a game-high 27 points and nine assists to carry Kansas State through.
Following his massive 28-point, 13-rebound showing in his side's opening-round win, Connecticut Huskies center Adama Sonogo starred again with 24 points (11-of-16 shooting) and eight rebounds in a 70-55 win over the Saint Mary's Gaels.
After Marquette, the top seed to fall Sunday was the three-seed Baylor Bears. Despite 30 points from Baylor guard L.J. Cryer, the Creighton Bluejays received a game-winning 30 points from Ryan Nembhard in the 85-76 triumph.
Nembhard is the younger brother of Andrew, who has been a rookie standout for the Indiana Pacers this season.
Following their stunning upset of one-seed Purdue, where they became the second 16-seed to ever advance past the first round, the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights were sent packing 78-70 by the nine-seed Florida Atlantic Owls.
Three-seed Xavier were in control throughout their 84-73 win against Pittsburgh, five-seed Miami prevailed 85-69 over four-seed Indiana, and four-seed Gonzaga sent six-seed TCU home 84-81.
LeBron James' regular season is not over, according to Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.
James has been absent since suffering a tendon injury in his foot during a February 26 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, with the franchise initially saying he will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
Three weeks have now passed, and while there was no concrete update in his timetable, Ham made it clear there is no thought of shutting down the rest of James' regular season.
The reality is that the Lakers do not have the luxury of holding James out for the playoffs, as they currently sit barely inside the Western Conference play-in tournament placings.
When asked for an update ahead of the Lakers' crucial win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday, Ham said: "We anticipate him coming back at some point [this season]."
Ham also pointed to how James' time away may have benefited his team, by being forced to field other players in expanded roles.
"I think Bron, him being out has revealed that we have a lot of different weapons that are very capable players on both sides of the ball that can help us achieve the goal that we're trying to achieve," he said. "And when he comes back, he's just going to add to it."
If James is not able to get back on the floor this season it will not be due to a lack of effort, according to Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder, highlighting the work the four-time Finals MVP is putting in to return to full strength.
"He works three times a day on his body to get back," he said. "I think we got a real chance here [once James returns]."
Nikola Jokic recorded his 28th triple-double of the season as the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets rediscovered some form with a 108-102 road victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
The Nuggets had lost five of their past six games, but improved to 48-24 with the triumph, maintaining a sizeable buffer at the top of the West from the second-placed Sacramento Kings (43-27).
Serbian center Jokic starred with 22 points on nine-of-12 shooting with 17 rebounds and 10 assists, while Michael Porter scored a team-high 28 points with five-of-nine three-point attempts.
Jamal Murray added 25 points, nailing all four of his attempts from beyond the arc, and he posted 20 of his haul in the opening quarter as Denver got a fast start to lead 33-21 at the first break.
The Nuggets were coasting to victory with a 91-71 lead at three-quarter time before the Nets rallied in the fourth, with Porter settling the game with one of his five triples.
The defeat dents Brooklyn's aspirations to claim a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference, falling to 39-32, marginally ahead of the seventh-placed Miami Heat (39-34).
Mikal Bridges top scored for the home side with 23 points on eight-of-18 shooting from the field, while Nic Claxton chipped in 19 points and eight rebounds.
Giannis records triple-double in Bucks win
The Milwaukee Bucks stormed past the Toronto Raptors 118-111 on a 29-16 fourth-quarter charge as Giannis Antetokounmpo brought up his 33d career triple-double.
Antetokounmpo finished with 22 points on 100 per cent shooting from the field with 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while Brook Lopez added a team-high 26 points with Khris Middleton scoring 20.
Lopez scored 17 of his 26 points in the final period, including the first eight of the quarter, with the Bucks going on a game-changing 15-2 run. The NBA-best Bucks are now 51-20.
SGA leads OKC past Suns
Shai Gilgeous-Alezander scored 40 points, came up clutch down the stretch and garnered M-V-P chants as the Oklahoma City Thunder boosted their play-in hopes with a 124-120 win over the Phoenix Suns.
Gilgeous-Thunder hit two free throws with 10 seconds left to hold off the Suns, who had Devin Booker score 46 points, including 30 in the second half, having led 69-57 at half-time. Chris Paul scored 14 points with 13 assists.
OKC (35-36) have four wins from their past five games to stay in the play-in hunt, thanks in large part to Gilgeous-Alexander's perfect 11-of-11 free throws in the second half, while Luguentz Dort added 20 points.
Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is leaving the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles to sign a one-year, $8million contract with the Detroit Lions.
Gardner-Johnson tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions in his lone season with the Eagles, despite missing five games with a lacerated kidney. He returned for the regular-season finale and started each of Philadelphia’s three postseason games to help the franchise to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2017.
The Eagles acquired Gardner-Johnson from New Orleans shortly before the start of the 2022 campaign. The Florida product added 67 tackles, one sack and eight passes defended in 12 regular season games.
A fourth-round pick of the Saints in 2019, Gardner-Johnson made 31 starts in three seasons with New Orleans. He led the Saints with 13 passes defended in 2020 and tied for the team lead with three interceptions in 2021.
Gardner-Johnson is the Lions' second major addition to the secondary this offseason as they attempt to improve the NFL's 32nd-ranked defense in total yards allowed in 2022. Detroit agreed to a three-year, $33m contract with former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton last week.
The Eagles, meanwhile, have now lost five defensive starters from their 2022 unit in free agency. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave signed a four-year, $84m contract with the San Francisco 49ers, linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White joined the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals, respectively, and safety Marcus Epps agreed to a two-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Daniil Medvedev joked about a love-hate relationship with the Indian Wells Open court and his failure to create an entertaining final after his heavy defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.
Medvedev's winning streak was halted at 19 matches by the sensational Alcaraz, who claimed his third Masters 1000 title in style on Sunday.
Alcaraz won 6-3 6-2 in just 72 minutes to return to the summit of the ATP rankings, with Novak Djokovic having been unable to feature in the United States due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.
Medvedev had won three titles in a row – at the Rotterdam Open, Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships, where he beat Djokovic – ahead of competing at Indian Wells, yet proved no match for the imperious Alcaraz, who he had beaten in their only previous meeting, at Wimbledon in 2021.
The Russian had to overcome several hurdles to reach the final, having rolled his ankle in his fourth-round win over Alexander Zverev while he also hurt his thumb in a quarter-final defeat of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Yet despite the trials and tribulations, and his humbling loss in the final, Medvedev was in good spirits.
"I had a pretty toxic relationship here with the courts, a love-hate relationship," Medvedev chuckled. "So I'd like to thank the court!
"I only played on this court. I gave it a hard time so it gave me a hard time also. Rolled the ankle, the thumb... but it gave me the chance to finish the tournament.
"Thanks a lot to this court, I'll definitely be back.
"I really love this tournament, I'll be happy to come back many more years to come and hopefully I can start to love this court and Indian Wells together."
Addressing the crowd, Medvedev quipped: "Sorry I didn't make this final entertaining. I tried, I don't like to lose, but today was unfortunately pretty easy. I hope you still enjoyed it."
Alcaraz is one of only three players to hold a 100 per cent record in multiple ATP Masters 1000 finals, having now won in the finals of the Miami Open, Indian Wells Open and Madrid Open without dropping a set.
"I'd like to congratulate Carlos," said Medvedev. "You already have amazing achievements in your career and I'm sure many more to come.
"Today's one more of them, winning Indian Wells. I also dream of it – maybe next time you'll give me the chance!
"Congrats to you and your team. You're probably the most respectful player on Tour, you probably say hi to 300 people a day. I've rarely seen it!"
Alcaraz returned the plaudits, telling Medvedev he serves as an inspiration to be "better on the court and off the court".
"It has been a really amazing run here, such an amazing experience," the 19-year-old added.
When asked if he had played a near perfect match, Alcaraz told Amazon Prime: "Yes, probably. I played really, really well.
"I made no tactical mistakes, which is really important against Daniil. I would say I was perfect in that way.
"I'm really happy with the way I played, the trophy and of course to be world number one."
While Alcaraz will return to the top of the world on Monday, compatriot and idol Rafael Nadal is set to drop out of the top 10 for the first time since April 2005.
Yeremy Pino and Borja Iglesias have been called up to Spain's squad for their upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Norway and Scotland.
Pedri and Gerard Moreno withdrew from the squad over the weekend due to injury.
Barcelona star Pedri missed Sunday's crucial Clasico win over Real Madrid after he failed to recover from a hamstring issue, and he will not feature in Luis de la Fuente's first games as Spain boss.
Moreno, meanwhile, suffered a muscular problem during Villarreal's 3-0 LaLiga win over Osasuna.
Winger Pino teed up Villarreal's final goal in that win, and the 20-year-old – who has netted three times in LaLiga this term and was included in Spain's World Cup squad – has been called in.
He is joined by Real Betis forward Iglesias, who returns to the national team after missing out on Luis Enrique's squad for Qatar.
The 30-year-old has scored 12 league goals this season, trailing only Enes Unal (13) and Robert Lewandowski (15).
Spain must try to stop Erling Haaland when they host Norway on Saturday before facing Scotland three days later.
Carlos Alcaraz reclaimed the world number one ranking after dominating the in-form Daniil Medvedev to lift the Indian Wells Open title for the first time on Sunday.
Medvedev came into the decider with 19 straight ATP Tour wins, but Alcaraz made light work of the Russian, winning 6-3 6-2 in 72 minutes.
Alcaraz's triumph means he has three Masters titles from three finals, not dropping a set in any, while it ensured he returns to the rankings' summit ahead of 2023 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who did not participate at Indian Wells.
The 2022 US Open champion has won two of three events since returning after three months out with abdominal and hamstring injuries that forced him to miss the Australian Open.
Alcaraz had labelled Medvedev the "best player right now" in the lead-up to the match, but was on top immediately, opening up a 3-0 lead as he hit 10 winners to the Russian's two in the first frame.
The Spaniard's dominance continued, winning the first 10 points of the second set, taking a 4-0 lead before prevailing with his second match point.
Alcaraz finished with 19-4 edge in the winner count, while Medvedev did not manage one ace for the match, marking the first time that has occurred since February 2020 against Gilles Simon in Marseille.
Medvedev had won in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai recently and was gunning to be the first man to win four titles in five weeks since Andy Murray in 2016, but was completely outclassed by the 19-year-old.
New Zealand's Danny Lee won a dramatic four-way playoff at the LIV Golf Tucson as Sergio Garcia's Fireballs GC took out the team event by four strokes on Sunday.
The 32-year-old South Korea-born Lee, who turned professional in 2009 but only won once on the PGA Tour, held his nerve in the playoff to edge out Carlos Ortiz, Louis Oosthuizen and Brendan Steele.
Lee, in his second LIV Golf event, claimed victory in style in the third playoff hole with a putt from off the green on the 18th hole.
"The individual victory means a lot," Lee said. "I haven't won since 2015. I just felt like winning is just not my thing but today just changed that. It’s good to see I’m capable of playing some good golf."
Lee had spurned the chance to clinch victory a hole earlier when he missed a six-foot birdie putt after a brilliant approach.
The New Zealander was part of Kevin Na's Iron Heads GC, who finished third in the team rankings at 19 under, with Garcia's Fireballs winning at 25 under. Dustin Johnson's 4Aces were second at 21 under.
"I wasn’t even looking at the individual score all day," Lee added. "I was only asking about 'how is our team doing?'. That's the reason why Kevin [Na] called and that’s the reason I’m over here."
Oosthuizen had looked the favourite on the players' leaderboard down the bank nine but dropped shots, only to produce an incredible birdie on the final hole to force his way into the playoff.
Steele stayed in the hunt with a fine par save on the 16th after his approach slid off the green and into the rough. Ortiz surged into contention with a final day six-under round.
Marc Leishman came into the final round leading by two strokes, but posted a six-over 77 to tumble down the leaderboard into a tie for 13th.
Simone Inzaghi feels Inter were shown a "lack of respect" after a VAR review decided to allow Filip Kostic's controversial winner in a 1-0 defeat to Juventus on Sunday.
Kostic lashed home the decisive goal after 23 minutes at San Siro, though a lengthy VAR check was needed to judge whether the ball had taken a touch off Adrien Rabiot's arm in the build-up.
The goal stood, and Juve went on to earn victory as the Bianconeri moved within nine points of third-placed Inter and seven points of the Champions League places.
It was Inter's third defeat from their last four Serie A outings, and Inzaghi was left fuming by the decision to allow Juve's winner to stand, though he was also proud of the way his players responded to what he felt was an injustice.
"The boys were good in the second half," Inzaghi told reporters in his post-match news conference. "At the end of the first half they saw what we suffered and it's unacceptable.
"Honestly to talk about football it's difficult for me, it was even difficult for me to talk to the team after the first half. We tried to remedy it, despite an unacceptable goal.
"There shouldn't be nervousness, but as far as the second half is concerned, the boys managed to keep calm to try to draw a match clearly spoiled by what happened.
"What happened is too serious. It's a lack of respect, and when I feel there are no images [of the incident], it's all the more so. It took four minutes.
"It's an irregular goal that penalises us, in a delicate moment, a delicate match. Conceding a goal like this is unacceptable."
When asked if he had spoken to referee Daniele Chiffi in hopes of clarification, Inzaghi replied: "No, it was so clear that it didn't seem right to me. There are such clear and glaring images."
The Nerazzurri have now won just one of their last five in all competitions, scoring just three goals across those games.
This latest blunt attacking display saw them muster just three shots on target despite having 69.4 per cent possession.
With the international break meaning Inter do not play again until April 1, Inzaghi is confident his players can use the league's pause to halt their poor run and enjoy a strong end to the season, explaining: "With all the matches we're going to play, I need everyone.
"You played a match that you shouldn't have played and you lost. The team would have deserved another result but this is football."
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is unsure if Takehiro Tomiyasu will return from injury this season, though he is hopeful the Gunners will receive more positive news on fellow defender William Saliba.
Tomiyasu and Saliba were both forced out of Arsenal's Europa League last-16 second leg against Sporting CP – which Arteta's men eventually lost on penalties – with injuries on Thursday.
Both men were then absent as Arsenal established an eight-point lead at the Premier League summit on Sunday, thrashing managerless Crystal Palace 4-1 on a weekend when title rivals Manchester City were on FA Cup duty.
Asked after that win whether Tomiyasu's knee injury could rule him out for the rest of the campaign, Arteta said: "We don't know, obviously the doctor is assessing him.
"We've had one assessment, they need to have another assessment tomorrow, but it's not looking good, that's for sure.
"Looking at Tomi, he's not someone who exaggerates things. He was really concerned straight away, and we are concerned."
Reports have suggested Saliba may be forced to withdraw from France's squad for their upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland, but Arteta hopes he will not miss a significant portion of Arsenal's run-in.
Rob Holding made his first start of the Premier League season against Palace, and Arteta says more fringe players will need to step up as the Gunners chase their first title since 2004.
"We hope Willy is going to be better news, but again we have to wait until [Monday] to understand a better picture," he said.
"We have lost players – we lost Gabby [Gabriel Jesus] for four months; we lost Thomas [Partey] for one and a half months; we lost Oleksandr Zinchenko for one and a half months.
"We lost [Mohamed] Elneny for six to eight months; we lost Eddie [Nketiah], and now we lost Tomiyasu and Saliba. Everybody has to give more.
"It's not a secret, if we want to maintain that level, everyone has to step in, give more, and Rob is a great example of what we needed today."
Elena Rybakina is targeting consistency and staying fit over becoming world number one, for now.
Rybakina defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (13-11) 6-4 on Sunday to clinch the Indian Wells Open title.
It brought up a fourth singles title of her career, her maiden WTA 1000 trophy and her first success since winning Wimbledon last year.
Rybakina overcame Iga Swiatek in the last four, making her the first player since Garbine Muguruza at the 2017 Western & Southern Open to beat the world number one and two in the semi-finals and final of a single tournament.
The Kazakh will rise to world number seven after her success in the Californian desert, but when asked if the top of the rankings was her next target, Rybakina told Amazon Prime: "I'll try but first of all I just want to have the consistency, the most important thing is to stay healthy because it's still the beginning of the year.
"If I continue like this I have all the chance to be higher in the top 10, we'll see how it's going to go."
She added: "It feels amazing. I didn't expect two sets, I thought it would be a three-set battle. It wasn't easy, it was a bit windy, I lost the two games, I was getting nervous, but I managed to sort it out."
The two games Rybakina referred to came in the second set, when she went from 5-2 up to 5-4 before regaining her composure.
Rybakina had also come out on top in an almighty tussle in the first-set tie-break, with Sabalenka unable to then rediscover her best form during the second set.
Sunday's success marked Rybakina's first victory over Sabalenka – who she lost to in the final of this season's Australian Open – in five attempts.
Though Sabalenka is not planning on losing another one, as the Belarusian comically interjected during Rybakina's post-match on-court interview.
"I'll make sure it was the last one," Sabalenka quipped after Rybakina had explained "it was the first time it went my way" in a meeting with the 24-year-old.
"It's been always a pleasure to play against you and always the toughest battle," Rybakina continued.
"Hopefully I'll be back next year to defend this result."
Sabalenka was courteous in defeat, saying: "First of all Elena I want to congratulate you and your team on another amazing week. Hopefully we'll play in many more finals, hopefully next time it'll go to me!"
However, she was already focusing on putting the defeat behind her, with the Miami Open next up.
"For me it's quite easy. I think it's gonna stay in my head until tomorrow, and tomorrow we are flying to Miami and I will forget this one," she told reporters.
"The thing is helping me to stay focused and to keep winning is just to focus on myself and focus on the game and focus on things what I have to do on court to keep winning.
"This one was tough, especially in the finals, it's always tough to lose. You're one step to the trophy and you lose it. This one is really tough. But she's a great player."
The last five WTA titles at Indian Wells have now been won by players yet to turn 24, while Rybakina became the 25th female player to win the title.
Taylor Moore is now a winner on the PGA Tour after shooting a terrific four-under 67 on Sunday to finish atop the Valspar Championship leaderboard.
Moore, 29, is in his second full season on the tour. After four top-10s last time around, and three consecutive top-15 finishes at the recent Farmers Insurance Open, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Phoenix Open, he now has his first victory.
However, he needed some help from the final pairing, as co-leaders Jordan Spieth and Adam Schenk both failed to hold on down the stretch.
Moore's 67 was tied for the second-best score of the day, carding birdies on the 12th, 15th and 16th to pull into a tie for the lead on 10 under when he finished his round.
As he stayed warm on the practice range, Spieth found the water and bogeyed the 16th to fall one behind, but he gave himself a birdie putt on the last hole to potentially force a playoff.
Meanwhile, Schenk was tied for the lead on 18, but a poor drive landed right at the base of a tree, meaning the righty had to scramble it back into the fairway left-handed.
Spieth had the first putt to try and join Moore at 10 under but raced it past, subsequently missing the comebacker to drop down to a tie for third.
Schenk went up next for par to earn a spot in a two-man playoff, but his putt cannoned into the lip of the hole and stayed out.
England's Tommy Fleetwood finished tied with Spieth in third at eight under, and there was a two-stroke gap back to Wyndham Clark alone in fifth at six under.
Xavi described Barcelona's 2-1 win over Clasico rivals Real Madrid as "a very important victory for us" as his team roared 12 points clear at the top of LaLiga.
A first league title since 2018-19 is within Barcelona's grasp now, with a dozen matchdays remaining and no end in sight to their dominance.
A 22nd win from 26 games in this season's championship was hard-earned at Camp Nou, where a freak own goal from Ronald Araujo gave Madrid a ninth-minute lead.
Barcelona's equaliser could hardly have been better timed, coming just before half-time from Sergi Roberto, who was given the nod to start in midfield ahead of Franck Kessie.
That gave Barcelona a huge lift to take into the interval and they struck at the death in the second half too, with substitute Kessie the man to send the home support wild in stoppage time.
Xavi celebrated on the touchline, all too aware of that goal's significance. Barring a staggering implosion over the remaining weeks of the season, Xavi's Barcelona will be champions in his first full season at the helm, dethroning their great rivals from Madrid.
"We dominated, we generated more chances," Xavi said. "I am leaving satisfied. The team emptied itself and worked in defence and attack. It is a very important victory for us. I think we have been good."
He was right about the chances, with Barcelona leading that count 17-11 over the course of the game, and the expected goals final reckoning, measuring the quality of chances and likelihood of scoring, was also firmly in their favour by a margin of 1.64 to 0.58.
Robert Lewandowski missed what was determined to be the best chance of the game, with his volley in the 67th minute flying over Thibaut Courtois' goal. That was given an xG rating of 0.377.
Madrid also had a goal chalked off after Marco Asensio beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the 81st minute but was ruled offside after a VAR check.
"I think we had more control," Xavi said. "I think we have been superior in general."
His team had 54 per cent of possession, having had just 35.2 per cent in their 1-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Copa del Rey at the start of March.
Sergi Roberto was named man of the match, and the goal justified his selection, with the experienced one-club man trusted for the big occasion. He featured at right-back last week, but with Araujo returning from suspension was handed a role further upfield, with Barcelona packing their midfield.
Former Milan star Kessie proved he can thrive in such a big occasion, too, with his intervention off the bench, and Xavi could hardly have been more delighted.
"I had doubts until the last moment between Sergi and Franck. In the end it turned out very well because they both scored," Xavi said.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
