Barcelona were thrashed 4-1 by Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh.
Vinicius Jr netted twice inside the opening ten minutes before completing his hat-trick from the penalty spot, to cancel out Robert Lewandowski's superb volley which had put Barcelona back in the match. Rodrygo then sealed the victory with Ronald Araujo sent off for the Blaugrana.
Xavi's side were undone before this El Clasico contest had really got going as a naively high defensive line allowed Jude Bellingham to slip in Vinicius, and the Brazilian rounded the goalkeeper to slot home after only seven minutes.
Moments later, it was 2-0 as Rodrygo broke down the right before racing into space and finding Vinicius at the far post for a tap-in.
A shell-shocked Barcelona gathered themselves well and halved the deficit on 33 minutes when Lewandowski watched a clearance drop in the D before lashing homefirst time into the bottom corner.
⚽ ¡¡𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗟 del @realmadrid!!
— RFEF (@rfef) January 14, 2024
🤯 ¡¡CÓMO ESTÁ VINICIUS!! ¡¡DOBLETE DEL BRASILEÑO!!
🆚 @realmadrid - @FCBarcelona | 2-0 | 11'
📺 @MovistarPlus#superSupercopa pic.twitter.com/v8vOQGKwyy
Yet the Catalans' hard work was undone before the break when more ill-discipline at the back cost them dearly. Araujo needlessly grappled Vinicius to the ground from a cross into the box and the Madrid superstar dusted himself down before burying the penalty.
Barcelona continued to work away with the bulk of the possession but their efforts became increasingly futile against Real's low block, Carlo Ancelotti's side at ease with the knowledge that they could punish Barcelona at the flick of a switch.
And so they did on 64 minutes when Fede Valverde was dropped into space on the right flank before a delicious crossfield pass to Vinicius. His cross was poorly cleared straight to Rodrygo, who ruthlessly netted the fourth goal.
⚽ ¡¡𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗟 del @realmadrid!!
— RFEF (@rfef) January 14, 2024
⚡ ¡¡Rodrygo culmina una 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗟!!
🆚 @realmadrid - @FCBarcelona | 4-1 | 63'
📺 @MovistarPlus #superSupercopa pic.twitter.com/nKIRe82dyU
Barcelona had already lost goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente to a red card for his protests at the awarding of the penalty and the man responsible for that, Araujo, was given his marching orders for a second booking after arriving second best with Vinicius at a loose ball.
That prompted a final 20 minutes of party football from Real, who toyed with their opponents but ultimately did not add to their worthy advantage.
A third Supercopa de Espana trophy in five years marks the first big success of a season where Madrid look set to once again mix it with Europe's very best.
