Vinícius Júnior leads Real Madrid to Super Cup triumph over Barcelona

Spanish Super Cup final: Real Madrid 4 (Vinicius Jr 7, 10, 39 pen, Rodrygo 64) Barcelona 1 (Lewandowski 33)

By the end, Barcelona just wanted to go home, any hope long since having left them. Real Madrid would have happily stayed out there for a little longer: first playing, which they did so well here, and then celebrating their success. A first half hat-trick from Vinícius Júnior carried them to victory over Barcelona and the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia which was a destruction.

Only three players have scored a clasico hat-trick that this century – Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema – and even Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t, which didn’t stop Vinícius paying tribute. At the Al Awwal Park, he celebrated his goals the way the Portugal forward did, a nod to history on the night when he made his own. For Jude Bellingham this was significant too, his first trophy at Madrid. It won’t be his last. In all probability it won’t even be his last this season. He might have expected this; he might not have expected it to be so apparently easy, wrapped up so early.

If that start surprised, it could not be written off as chance, nor some freak occurrence; it was just a more extreme expression of a recurring problem, a system failure repeated in the worst moment and with the worst opponent. Against Granada, Barcelona conceded the first goal after 17 seconds, against Alaves it came on 18, and in Antwerp after 75. They let in the first in the eighth minute against Mallorca, the 12th against Girona, the ninth against Las Palmas, and the 19th against Celta Vigo. Porto and Shakhtar both got the opening goal against them inside the first half.

Here, they were one down before the clock reached seven and two down before they had played 10 minutes. They had conceded a third before half-time, the hope provided by Robert Lewandowski’s goal, belted in between the second and third, swiftly revealed to have been a mirage.

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With Andreas Christensen leaving the defensive line to join Frenkie de Jong in closing down, Jude Bellingham dug out a left footed pass into the space, just beyond the boot of a hesitant Jules Koundé, for Vinícius to race through for the first. Alone, he went round Iñaki Peña, rolled the ball into the net, leap into the arm and perform a Siuuu in Ronaldo’s new home.

The final ‘u’ had barely faded away when he scored the second, Dani Carvajal releasing Rodrygo, who scampered up the right wing and bent the ball across the six-yard box for Vinícius to slide in and score. Another Ronaldo clasico celebration followed, this time pointing at the badge and the turf.

That had been Madrid’s third one on one already and there would be more. Barcelona were wide open, chaotic and unable to exercise any real control. Even if they had moments of possession, every time they lost it again, they looked vulnerable and exposed, there to be killed off. It is risky enough playing this high against anyone; doing so against Madrid and without Gavi is reckless.

And if Barcelona were entitled to believe that there might be a chance when Ferland Mendy’s header dropped out of the sky and Lewandowski connected with a clean, hard volley – of their 41 points in the league this season 27 had been won in the final quarter of an hour – those comebacks weren’t against Madrid and the optimism was soon wiped out. Ronald Araújo hooked Vinícius onto the floor and the Brazilian got back up to score the penalty to make it 3-1 before half-time.

Barcelona needed something special now and Pedri struck a shot flashing past the post just before the break, but nothing followed that before he made way. Having recently returned from injury, someone to hold on to, he departed on the hour – by which point Barcelona still had not mustered another significant shot. Madrid were comfortable enough for the occasional flashes of a fun, which pleased the supporters here more than Carlo Ancelotti, and to wait for their moments, in no hurry at all. In no doubt, either. Bellingham was striding through this game, the footwork and physicality untouchable for his opponents.

The fourth goal just after the hour. Deep into the area Vinícius was actually looking for the Englishman but Koundé cut out the pass and it fell instead to Rodrygo, who finished.

It was all Barcelona could do not to lose their heads entirely, to limit the damage, which was bad enough already – and all the more so when Araújo was sent off soon after. Madrid still weren’t done, or didn’t want to be. They were enjoying this now, infused with a superiority, an ease, that must have surprised even them. An Aurélien Tchouaméni pass released Bellingham, who was denied by Peña. Then a superb run from Brahim Díaz carried him through, the ball eventually dropping to Bellingham who turned away from his man, beat Peña, and watch the ball cleared off the line by Koundé, Fede Valverde smashing it just wide. There were no more goals, but this was finished; it had been almost from the start.