Real Madrid Wins 13th Spanish Super Cup with Dominant Victory Over Barcelona

Real Madrid's Dominant Performance

Real Madrid claimed its 13th Spanish Super Cup with a comprehensive 4-1 demolition of arch-rival Barcelona in El Cl\u00e1sico on Sunday. Young superstar Vin\u00edcius Jr. scored a hat-trick inside the first 40 minutes of the game to allowed Real to race into an early lead before a second-half strike from Rodrygo put the game to bed. The result was sweet revenge for Madrid, which was defeated 3-1 by Barcelona in the 2023 edition of the tournament.

Vinícius celebrates after opening the scoring.

'We wanted to win the final,' said Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti after the game. 'We deserved to win it. We got off to a good start and took advantage of the high line at the beginning. 'Vin\u00edcius was in extraordinary form and, from there, another game started.' It was back-to-back wins against Los Blancos rivals after defeating Atl\u00e9tico Madrid in the semifinal of the competition. Robert Lewandowski scored Bar\u00e7as only goal of the game as the Blaugrana slipped to the humbling loss, which became even more painful when center-back Ronald Ara\u00fajo was sent off in the second half.

Lewandowski celebrates with teammate Jules Koundé after scoring.

Madrid wasted no time in taking the lead; Vin\u00edcius latched on to a through ball from English phenom Jude Bellingham seven minutes in before rounding Bar\u00e7a goalkeeper I\u00f1aki Pe\u00f1a and slotting the ball into an empty net. The 23-year-old Brazilian hit Cristiano Ronaldos famous siu celebration after scoring in front of a packed crowd at King Saud University Stadium - the home of Ronaldos current side Al Nassr - in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 'The celebration was for Cristiano, who is my idol and is playing here now,' Vin\u00edcius told the media. Real doubled its advantage three minutes later when Vin\u00edcius scored his second, sliding in to meet a low Rodrygo cross to leave Barcelona reeling. The Blaugrana had their chances after going behind, with a looping effort from Ferran Torres crashing off the bar before Lewandowskis follow-up was saved by Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.

Barcelona's Defeat and Response

Barcelona suffered a hard defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final. Robert Lewandowski's goal was not enough as the Blaugrana slipped to a humbling 4-1 loss, which became even more painful when center-back Ronald Ara\u00fajo was sent off in the second half. 'This was a very hard defeat to take,' Barcelona coach Xavi said after the game. 'But there is a long season still ahead and we now have to keep battling for the trophies that are left. We need to stay strong. Well be back.' With Bar\u00e7a committing players forward, Real continued to threaten on the break and scored their fourth through Rodygo with just over an hour gone in the game, with the forward firing a first time shot past Pe\u00f1a. Things went from bad to worse for Barcelona when Ara\u00fajo received his second yellow card for a foul on Vin\u00edcius, bringing the reigning La Liga champion down to 10 men.

Araújo (left) is dismissed by the referee.

Barcelona sought a way back into the match and tried its luck from long-range, but efforts from Pedri and Lamine Yamal either side of the half respectively were unable to find the back of the net. The focus for both sides now switches back to league competition. Madrid is currently second in La Liga - one point behind league-leading Girona with a game in hand - while Barcelona sits in fourth, eight points adrift of the surprise leader, but also with one less game played.