Vinícius Júnior scored a first-half hat-trick as Real Madrid were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions after a 4-1 demolition of bitter rivals Barcelona in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Real dominated every aspect of the game and played with last year's champions who couldn't handle Vinícius and finished the game with 10 men after defender Ronald Araújo was sent off for a second booking in the 71st minute after two fouls on the Brazilian.
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“I didn't expect us to score three so soon, but tonight we took advantage of their high defensive line with an inspired Vinicius,” Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told Movistar Plus.
“It was a difficult match, the result seems too much for the way Barcelona played. At 3-1 it was tied. At 4-1 they lowered their arms a little. We are happy.”
Ancelotti was being kind to Barça, who could have suffered an even bigger defeat after a dismal second half in which they did not register a single shot on goal.
Real's masterclass, however, had started much earlier, with Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Vinicius creating all kinds of problems for a Barcelona defense that played with a very high line.
It took La Real seven minutes to open the scoring thanks to a magnificent assist from Bellingham.
The English midfielder was surrounded by three players on the halfway line, but somehow managed to make a stunning pass to find Vinicius, who calmly took the ball and effortlessly passed it past the goalkeeper to finish into an empty net.
Real wasted a great opportunity to extend their lead when Federico Valverde quickly recovered the ball and played a great pass to Rodrygo, whose close-range shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Iñaki Peña.
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Real's second came with another long pass, this time with Dani Carvajal finding Rodrygo in the right lane. He burst into the box before placing the ball into the penalty area for a tap-in by Vinicius in the 10th minute.
Barcelona almost struck back quickly when Ferran Torres hit a half-volley against the crossbar and goalkeeper Andriy Lunin made a reflex save to parry a Robert Lewandowski shot on the rebound.
However, Barça resisted and managed to reduce the difference with a good goal from Lewandowski after another rebound in the 33rd minute.
The momentum was seemingly in Barça's favor when Aurélien Tchouaméni lifted a cross towards Vinicius Jr, who was stopped by defender Araujo as he attempted to pounce on the ball. Vinicius took the penalty and scored with a beautiful shot to the goalkeeper's right in the 39th minute.
The goal was a hard blow for Barcelona and Real dominated the second half with Rodrygo scoring the fourth off a rebound in the 64th minute.
The defeat will increase pressure on Barca coach Xavi, who has faced criticism from fans and media who are unhappy with the team's form.
They occupy fourth place in the LaLiga standings with 41 points, eight behind leader Girona and seven behind second-placed Real Madrid.
“We have not shown the necessary level for a match like this,” Xavi said at a press conference.
“We played our worst game. We were not comfortable at any time. Madrid hurt us on the counterattack. I apologize to the fans because it was difficult for us to compete and we showed our worst side…”
