By the end Barcelona just wanted to get out of there and go home, any hope, which had been small enough anyway, long since having left them. Real Madrid would have happily stayed a little longer: first to keep playing, which they did so well, and then to celebrate a success that suggests there will be more to come, delivered via a total destruction of their greatest rivals.
A first-half hat-trick from Vinícius Júnior, two of those scored inside the opening 10 minutes, helped them ease – and ease really does feel like the right word – to a 4-1 victory and the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Only three players have scored a clásico hat-trick this century: Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema. Even Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t, which didn’t stop Vinícius paying tribute: at ‘Al-Awwal Park, Ronaldo’s new home, the Brazilian celebrated his goals the way the Portuguese did, a nod to history on a night when he made his own.
For Jude Bellingham this was significant too, his first trophy at Madrid. It won’t be his last or the biggest– in all likelihood it won’t even be his last this season – and in truth he probably expected this; he might not have expected it to be so smooth, wrapped up so early.
If the start was surprising, Barcelona defeated before the time reached double figures, it could not be written off as chance, some freak occurrence; it was a more a reflection of Madrid’s superiority, another expression of a recurring problem for Barcelona, a system failure repeated in the worst moment and with the worst opponent.
Against Granada, Xavi Hernández’s side conceded the first after 17 seconds, against Alavés it came on 18, and in Antwerp after 75. They let in the first in the eighth, 12th and 12th minutes against Mallorca, Girona and Las Palmas, and in the 19th against Celta de Vigo. Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk got the opening goal inside the first half.
Here, Barcelona were one down before the clock reached seven. They had conceded a third before half-time, the promise provided by Robert Lewandowski’s goal, belted in between Madrid’s second and third, swiftly revealed to be a mirage. A little like their defence.
With Andreas Christensen leaving the line to join Frenkie de Jong in closing him down, Bellingham dug out a superb pass into the space beyond the boot of a hesitant Jules Koundé for Vinícius to race through for the first. Alone, the Brazilian went round Iñaki Peña, rolled the ball into the net, leapt into the air and performed a Siuuu.
The final ‘u’ had barely faded away when he had a second, Dani Carvajal releasing Rodrygo to set up him up, and he slid in to score. Another Ronaldo clásico celebration followed, this time pointing at the badge and the turf. I’m here.
He was too, repeatedly. That had been Madrid’s third one-on-one. Vinícius was unstoppable. Barcelona were open, chaotic and unable to exercise any real control. Even if they had moments of possession, they remained vulnerable and exposed. It is risky enough playing this high against anyone; doing so against Madrid and without Gavi, or any evidence of co-ordination or intensity, is reckless.
If Barcelona were entitled to believe when Ferland Mendy’s header dropped and Lewandowski connected with a clean volley on 31 – of their 41 league points, 27 had been won in the final quarter of an hour, after all – those comebacks weren’t against Madrid and it didn’t last long. When Ronald Araújo hooked Vinícius on to the floor, the Brazilian got up to score the penalty and make it 3-1 before half-time.
Barcelona needed something, anything, but had almost nothing. Pedri struck a shot past the post just before the break and that was about it. Madrid were comfortable enough for the occasional flashes of fun, which pleased the supporters here more than Carlo Ancelotti, and to wait for their moments, in no hurry at all. In no doubt, either. Bellingham was striding through this game, the footwork and physicality untouchable for his opponents. The fourth goal arrived just after the hour, Rodrygo finishing off from Vinícius’s intercepted pass towards Bellingham.
It was all Barcelona could do not to lose their heads entirely, to limit the damage, which was bad enough already – and all the more so when Araújo was sent off. Madrid still weren’t done, or didn’t want to be. They were enjoying this, an Aurélien Tchouaméni pass releasing Bellingham, who was denied by Peña. A superb run from Brahim Díaz then took him through, the ball eventually dropping to Bellingham, whose shot was cleared off the line by Koundé. There were no more goals, but this was finished; it had been almost from the start.
