Vinicius hat trick secures 13th Super Cup for Madrid

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Vinicius Junior did his best Cristiano Ronaldo impersonation in Saudi Arabia, scoring a hat-trick and leading Real Madrid to a 4-1 rout of Barcelona and the Spanish Super Cup trophy.

Vinicius scored his three goals in the first half as Los Blancos thrashed Barca to lift their first trophy of the season on Sunday. After his first goal, the Brazil forward imitated the trademark celebration of the former Madrid great, with Ronaldo reportedly watching on from the stands.

"It was for Cris, because he is my idol and now he is playing here," said Vinicius, who was named the player of the match. "I'm very happy with myself and with my team. It's not easy to play against Barcelona, and to win 4-1 is tough. We played an almost perfect match."

Rodrygo also scored for Madrid, which now has 13 Super Cup trophies, just one shy of the Catalan club. It was Madrid's second Super Cup triumph since the tournament was moved to Saudi Arabia four years ago. Robert Lewandowski scored Barcelona's goal to make it 2-1 in the first half.

Barcelona played a man down from the 71st minute after defender Ronald Araujo was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Vinicius. Madrid was already winning 4-1 at the time.

The victory added to Madrid's momentum as Carlo Ancelotti's team remains unbeaten in 21 consecutive games in all competitions. Its last setback was a 3-1 loss at Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league in September.

In contrast, the defeat adds to Barcelona's troubles and piles further pressure on coach Xavi Hernandez, whose team hasn't been playing well recently. It trails second-place Madrid by seven points in the Spanish league, with Catalan opponent Girona eight points in front and top of the table having played an extra game.

"We are disappointed and sad," Xavi said. "We were hopeful of another victory, but in the end it was our worst match. We didn't get off to a good start and were never comfortable. We have to congratulate Madrid, which deserved to win."

It didn't take long for Madrid to take control of the match at the Al-Awwal Stadium in Riyadh, with Vinicius finding the net for the first time following a long injury layoff, with his goals coming in the seventh, 10th and 39th minutes. It was Vinicius' third match since returning from an injury sustained while playing a World Cup qualifier for Brazil in November.

"I didn't expect us to score three so soon, but we took advantage of their high defensive line with an inspired Vinicius tonight," Ancelotti said. "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.

"Vinicius is back. He needed these two or three games to get back to his best form."

Vinicius opened the scoring thanks to an assist from Jude Bellingham, dribbling past Barcelona goalkeeper Inaki Pena before finding the open net. The second goal came from a breakaway and an assist by Rodrygo, and the third was a penalty he converted after being pulled down by Araujo.

Lewandowski had moved Barcelona to within a goal with a shot from inside the area in the 33rd minute, but Madrid remained in control for the rest of the match, securing a comfortable victory.

Rodrygo's goal came in the 64th minute after a pass by Vinicius was deflected by Barcelona defender Jules Kounde inside the area.

Madrid made it to the final by defeating cross-city rival Atletico Madrid 5-3 in extra time in the first semifinal on Wednesday, while Barcelona got past Osasuna 2-0 on Thursday.

Madrid qualified for the Super Cup after beating Osasuna in the Copa del Rey final last season, while Barcelona made it to the tournament as the Spanish league champion.

Madrid also won the trophy when the Super Cup's revamped "Final Four" format debuted in Saudi Arabia in 2020 — the first of a lucrative multiyear deal for the clubs and the Spanish soccer federation.

Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos, who has criticized the decision by top players to play in Saudi Arabia, was booed again by the Saudi crowd on Sunday.

The "El Clasico" tie was a rematch of last year's Super Cup final, which Barcelona won 3-1, claiming its first trophy under coach Xavi and without Lionel Messi.

Madrid also beat Barcelona in the first El Clasico of the season at the Spotify Camp Nou in October in the Spanish league.

Agencies via Xinhua