Real Madrid outclass rivals Barcelona to lift Spanish Super Cup

The supporters at the KSU Stadium in Riyadh were treated to an enthralling first half, where Vinicius found the net twice in the space of three minutes to get his side off to the perfect start.

Robert Lewandowski halved the deficit just past the half-hour mark, before Vinicius kept his composure from the penalty spot to register his third goal of the evening.

After seeing Rodrygo add a fourth, matters got worse for Barcelona when Ronald Araujo was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence.

With Barcelona's spirit broken, Los Blancos saw out the remainder of the contest with minimum fuss to ease to their third Super Cup trophy in five seasons, while their opponents will reflect upon a third consecutive in competitive Clasicos.

After finishing strongly in Wednesday's extra-time win over Atletico Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti's side picked up from where they left off, as they made a quick start to take the lead within seven minutes of the first whistle.

Vinicius latched onto Jude Bellingham's defence-splitting pass, before coolly rounding Inaki Pena and rolling the ball into the awaiting net.

Not content with netting an early opener, Real Madrid quickly added to their tally to give Barcelona a mountain to climb.

Rodrygo was sent racing into the box by Dani Carvajal's long pass forward, before he cut the ball across for Vinicius to slide home from close range.

After seeing their arch-rivals move two goals clear, Barcelona went agonisingly close to producing an immediate response when Lewandowski forced Andriy Lunin into a smart save after Ferran Torres had rattled the crossbar.

Lunin, who had replaced Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Real Madrid goal, was on hand to deny Lewandowski for a second time as the contest approached the half-hour mark.

The experienced Barcelona forward eventually found a way past Lunin in the 33rd minute, thumping home a powerful volley after pouncing on Ferland Mendy's headed clearance.

Just as the Calatan giants thought they had established a foothold, referee Juan Martinez Munuera pointed to the spot, ruling that Ronald Araujo had pulled Vinicius back in the box.

After picking himself off the deck, Vinicius showed great composure to stroke home the subsequent spot-kick to wrap up the second hat-trick of his Real Madrid career.

With Los Blancos in complete control, they ended any faint hopes of a Barcelona comeback when Rodrygo pounced on a loose ball to fire past Pena.

Barcelona's disastrous evening took another turn for the worse, as Araujo was shown a second yellow card for fouling Vinicius, leaving his side with 10 players for the remaining stages of the contest.

Bellingham threatened to add insult to injury, but his left-foot strike was kept out by Jules Kounde's goalline clearance.

Substitute Joao Felix went on to draw a smart save from Lunin in the game's last meaningful moment of action, as Real Madrid cruised to a dominant 4-1 win and their first trophy of the season.

Once the celebrations are over, Los Blancos will prepare for a Copa del Rey tie against city rivals Atletico Madrid, while Xavi's side will look to avoid an upset against third-tier Unionistas.