Vinicius Junior hits hat-trick as Los Blancos rout old rivals to lift the Spanish Super Cup
Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick in the first half to help Real Madrid win the Spanish Super Cup 4-1 over bitter rivals Barcelona on Sunday in Saudi Arabia.
Real dominated every aspect of the game and toyed with last year's champions, who were unable to handle Vinicius and finished with 10 men after defender Ronald Araujo was sent off for a second yellow card in the 71st minute for two fouls on the Brazilian.
"I didn't expect us to score three so soon, but we took advantage of their high defensive line with an inspired Vinicius tonight," Real manager 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 even. At 4-1 they dropped their arms a bit. We are happy."
Ancelotti was being kind to Barcelona, who could have suffered a much worse defeat after a disastrous second half in which they failed to register a single shot on goal.
Real's masterclass, on the other hand, began much earlier, with Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, and Vinicius wreaking havoc on a Barcelona defence that was playing with an exceptionally high line.
It took Real seven minutes to open the scoring, thanks to a fantastic assist from Bellingham.
The England midfielder was surrounded by three players on the halfway line, but he managed to make a stunning pass to Vinicius, who took the ball in stride and raced past the goalkeeper to finish into an empty net.
Real squandered a golden opportunity to extend their lead when Federico Valverde recovered the ball quickly and delivered a great pass through to Rodrygo, whose point-blank shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Inaki Pena.
Real's second came from another long pass, this time by Dani Carvajal to Rodrygo in the right channel. He broke into the box and squared the ball across the penalty area for Vinicius to tap in in the tenth minute.
Barcelona almost responded quickly, with Ferran Torres firing a half-volley against the crossbar and goalkeeper Andriy Lunin making a reflex save to deny Robert Lewandowski's bullet strike on the rebound.
However, Barcelona fought back and reduced the deficit with a fine Lewandowski strike off another rebound in the 33rd minute.
The momentum appeared to be in Barcelona's favour when Aurelien Tchouameni lifted a cross to Vinicius Jr, who was held by defender Araujo as he attempted to pounce on the ball. Vinicius took the penalty and scored in the 39th minute, finishing neatly to the goalkeeper's right.
The goal dealt a crushing blow to Barcelona, and Real dominated the second half, with Rodrygo scoring their fourth from a rebound in the 64th minute.
The loss will put more pressure on Barcelona manager Xavi, who has faced criticism from fans and the media over the team's performance.
They are fourth in the LaLiga standings with 41 points, eight behind leaders Girona and seven behind second-placed Real Madrid.
"We have not shown the level required for a match like this," Xavi told a press conference.
"We played our worst game. We weren't comfortable at any point. Madrid hurt us on the counter. I apologise to the fans because it was hard for us to compete and we showed our worst side..."
SportsLigue