Real Madrid make easy work of Barcelona in Spanish Super Cup final

VInicius Jr. scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup rather comfortably 4-1 over Barcelona.

Los Blancos went ahead two goals within ten minutes courtesy of Vinicius Jr. The Barcelona defense certainly played their part in both tallies with the Brazilian taking full advantage of a Jules Kounde mistake and then simply connecting on a low cross from Rodrygo.

Barcelona managed to pull one back thanks to Robert Lewandowski who volleyed in from a deflection. The goal seemed to spur the Catalans for a bit before Ronald Araujo was deemed to have brought down Vinicius Jr minuted before the end of the half. In the replay, the Brazilian tripped over his own feet but VAR decided not to intervene. Vinicius Jr. stepped up and cemented his hat-trick.

Things went from bad to worse for Barcelona in the second half as Rodrygo scored Madrid's fourth after another routine build-up from the Spanish giants. Kounde lunged to try to clear the ball only to see it land to Rodrygo who finished well past the keeper.

To sum up Barcelona's frustrations, Araujo was sent off in the 71st minute after a foul on Vinicius.

Up a man, Real Madrid smelled blood in the water and went full steam ahead in order to score a fifth, a sixth or perhaps even a seventh. They certainly had their fair share of chances but in the end, were forced to settle for four.

The game summed up the season for both clubs. Real Madrid, despite all their injuries, have managed to overcome and lift their first trophy of the season. On the other side, Barcelona have struggled from the same issues with Xavi nowhere close to finding a solution. It is a loss that could have consequences for the Barcelona legend.

The game could have served as a launching point for Barcelona. Instead, they were embarrassed and it could signal the end of Xavi's tenure as manager.