Real Madrid thrash Barcelona to win Spanish Super Cup
Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick in the first half as Real Madrid were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions after a 4-1 demolition of bitter rivals Barcelona in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Real dominated every aspect of the game and toyed with last year's champions who could not handle Vinicius and ended the contest with 10 men after defender Ronald Araujo was sent off for a second booking in the 71st minute after two fouls on the Brazilian. "I didn't expect us to score three so soon, but we took advantage of their high defensive line with an inspired Vinicius tonight," Real manager Carlo 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." Ancelotti was being kind to Barca who could have suffered an even bigger defeat after a dismal second half in which they didn't record a single shot on target. Real's masterclass, however, had started much earlier, with Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Vinicius creating all kinds of trouble for a Barcelona defence that were playing with an extremely high line. The loss will increase the pressure on Barca manager Xavi, who has faced criticism from fans and media who are unhappy with the team's form. They sit fourth in the LaLiga standings on 41 points, eight behind leaders Girona and seven adrift of second-placed Real Madrid. "We have not shown the level required for a match like this," Xavi told a press conference. "We played our worst game. We weren't comfortable at any point. Madrid hurt us on the counter. I apologise to the fans because it was hard for us to compete and we showed our worst side..." (Reuters)