After losing to Barcelona in the championship game of the previous season, Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup again.
Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 4-1 in El Clásico on Sunday to win the Spanish Super Cup for the 13th time.
Before Rodrygo’s goal in the second half put the game to bed, Real Madrid raced into an early lead thanks to a hat-trick from the young sensation Vinícius Jr.
Madrid, which lost to Barcelona 3-1 in the tournament’s 2023 edition, achieved sweet retribution.
After the match, Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti stated, “We wanted to win the final.” “We were worthy winners. We took advantage of the early high line and got off to a fantastic start.
“After Vinícius returned to extraordinary form, a new game began.”
It was a pair of victories against Los Blancos’ rivals following their victory over Atlético Madrid in the competition’s quarterfinal.
Barça’s lone goal of the match was scored by Robert Lewandowski, and the humiliating defeat was made worse by the dismissal of center-back Ronald Araújo in the second half.
After the game, Barcelona coach Xavi remarked, “This was a very hard defeat to take.” But we still have a long season ahead of us, and we must continue to compete for the remaining titles. We must continue to be resilient. We intend to return.
Madrid took the lead right away; seven minutes in, Vinícius pounced on a through pass from English sensation Jude Bellingham, around Barça goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, and slotted the ball into an empty net.
Vinícius raises his hand to score first and celebrates.
The 23-year-old Brazilian stole the renowned “siu” celebration from Cristiano Ronaldo as he scored in front of a boisterous crowd at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo plays for Al Nassr.
Vinícius told the journalists, “The celebration was for Cristiano, who is my idol and is playing here now.”
Three minutes later, Vinícius increased Real’s lead by slipping in to meet a low cross from Rodrygo, leaving Barcelona reeling.
After falling behind, the Blaugrana had a chance; first, Ferran Torres’ looping shot struck the crossbar, and then Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin stopped Lewandowski’s rebound.
Later in the half, Lunin again denied Torres, and it wasn’t until the 33rd minute that the reigning league winner took the lead. Barça regained control of the game when Lewandowski scored a lovely volley from the edge of the area to make it 2-1.
After scoring, Lewandowski celebrates with teammate Jules Koundé.
But the moment of optimism was short-lived, as Vinícius finished with a hat-trick in a matter of minutes. Araújo was found to have brought down the Brazilian within the penalty area, and Vinícius scored the next penalty kick to put Real ahead 3-1.
Barcelona attempted to reenter the game by shooting long-range goals, but Pedri and Lamine Yamal, who attempted to score on either side of the half, respectively, were unsuccessful.
With just over an hour remaining in the game, Real Madrid scored their fourth goal through Rodygo, who put a first-time shot past Peña as Barça committed players forward.
Araújo’s second yellow card for a tackle on Vinícius made things worse for Barcelona, reducing the defending La Liga champion to 10 men.
The referee dismisses Araújo (left).
As Madrid attempted to chase a fifth, Bellingham had one effort saved and another cleared off the line, while replacement João Félix was stopped by Lunin at the other end.
In Riyadh, Real Madrid’s defense stood strong until the very end, handing the Merengues their first trophy of the campaign.
Both teams are now returning their attention to league action. With a game remaining, Girona leads La Liga and Madrid is currently in second place, one point behind them. Barcelona is in fourth place, eight points behind the unexpected leader, but has also played one fewer game than Madrid.
