Vinicius Jr hat-trick sees Real Madrid lift Spanish Super Cup

Vinicius Junior scored a fine first-half hat trick as Real Madrid thrashed bitter rival Barcelona 4-1 to win the Spanish Super Cup at the Al Awwal Stadium in Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men came into this highly anticipated encounter as firm favorites as they brushed aside the Blaugrana with ease in what was a one-sided final from start to finish.

Ronald Araujo was then sent off in the 71^st minute in what was a disastrous evening for Xavi’s men.

Real Madrid make dream start

It was a dream start for Real as Vinicius opened the scoring in the 3^rd minute. The Brazilian picked up a fine pass from Jude Bellingham, as he was through on goal, before rounding Inaki Pena in the Barcelona goal to Madrid the lead.

Pena then kept out Rodrygo’s thunderous 20-yard effort just 2 minutes later before Vinicius made it 2-0 in the 10^th minute.

The winger slotted home from close range from Rodrygo’s swift low cross from the right wing as the Barcelona defense couldn’t cope with Madrid’s brilliant start. Pedri almost pulled one back just two minutes later as he looped his half-volley onto the crossbar but Robert Lewandowski couldn’t head the ball home as Andriy Lunin kept out the Polish striker’s effort by tipping it over.

Lewandowski did half the deficit in the 33^rd minute with a sumptuous strike from the edge of the box following a swift Barcelona move. It looked like Barcelona would finally claw their way back into the game.

However, Araujo let the game drift away from the Catalans as he brought down Vinicius in the box with the Brazilian ready to pounce at the far post. The Madrid winger stepped up to make no mistake as the Galacticos went into halftime 3-1 up and Barcelona struggling all over the pitch.

Quieter second half sees Madrid secure the trophy

It was a quieter second half as Xavi made several changes to get back into the game but Barcelona hardly created any clear-cut openings to score. Rodrygo then made it 4-1 in the 64^th minute from inside the box to put the game to bed.

It turned bad to worse for Barcelona as Araujo was given his marching orders for a second yellow for yet another cynical challenge on Vinicius. Neither team created any further opportunities in the last fifteen minutes as Madrid strolled to a memorable win in front of a packed crowd.

The result will come as a huge blow for Barcelona who are having a poor season by their standards. The Catalans are in fourth place in the La Liga standings, eight points behind leaders Girona and seven off real who could very well go on and reclaim their crown. Along with Vinicius, Belingham, and Rodrygo looked at the peak of their powers as Real look to build a memorable campaign.

Ancelotti, on the other hand, will be delighted with his team’s effort as they laid down the marker with a dominating performance. The Galacticos are certainly favorites for the La Liga and will also aim to make a deep run in the Champions League this season.

Photo credit: IMAGO / AFLOSPORT.