2024-02-15 05:19:50
Foto: Saolab Press | Shutterstock
Text: Hugo León
With Saudi Arabia as the setting and with a spectacular double from Vinícius Junior in less than 10 minutes, Real Madrid began what would end up being a 4-1 victory over Barcelona that allowed them to win the Spanish Super Cup this Sunday.
The first of his goals came after receiving a pass from Jude Bellingham, making a cut to Blaugrana goalkeeper Iñaki Peña and finishing with the goal wide open in the seventh minute.
Less than three minutes later, Rodrygo escaped after a through pass and crossed diagonally, looking for his team in front of the Barcelona goal, where Vinícius appeared to sweep and put the ball back into the net.
Thanks to a penalty, Vinícius scored again and signed the hat trick before the end of the first half and the cover was put on another Brazilian, Rodrygo, who took advantage of a bad rejection by the culé goalkeeper to shoot inside the area.
For Barcelona, the applause goes to Robert Lewandowski, author of the solitary goal in the 33rd minute, with a volley shot that pierced the nets defended by the Ukrainian Andriy Lunin.
For Madrid, this is a day of excitement among its fans, who reached the final of the Super Cup seeing their team come back in a difficult semi-final in the derby against Atlético and now win in the Spanish classic.
The train crash ended, as expected, with “Vini” as MVP and thus Madrid took the 13th Super Cup to its showcases. This is the Merengue club’s 102nd title and its 104th victory in the classic against Barcelona.
At the final whistle, Vinícius was grateful to his team. “I want to thank all the physios, the coach and all my friends who, after the injury, have made it possible for me to be here. “I am very happy with what I have done today,” he said.
Meanwhile, the merengue coach, Carlo Ancelotti, wins his first title of the season and number 11 overall leading Real Madrid. The Italian has already won 2 Champions Leagues, 2 Club World Cups, 1 League, 2 Copas del Rey, 2 European Super Cups and with this one, 2 Spanish Super Cups. He is also the second coach with the most titles in Madrid, only surpassed by Miguel Muñoz.
Nacho, captain of the white team, later told the press that he knew they came prepared and strong, both physically and psychologically.
Meanwhile, Florentino Pérez, president of the Club, highlighted after the game the good condition of Vinícius just a few games after returning from an injury.
“I told Vinícius to see if he scores more,” Florentino said, and apparently his words motivated the Brazilian’s thirst for a goal, ultimately the hero of the match for the meringues. Likewise, he offered certainty about Ancelotti’s renewal and about Vini, he highlighted his dedication in each game: “he shines almost always, today he deserved it and he is happy… he is very young, he is happy and he is very good and every year it will be better”.
On the other hand, Xavi Hernández, Barcelona coach, recognized that the two early goals did a lot of damage and, microphone in hand, addressed the culé fans to apologize once again and reiterated that the team is not in a position to bring in new signings.