Real Madrid vs Barcelona: In the Supercopa De Espana final, Real Madrid easily defeated Barcelona 4-1 to establish themselves as the finest team in Spain and to take home the title they so richly earned. For Barcelona supporters, a hat-trick from Vinicius Jr. in the Supercopa final and another goal from Rodrygo were more than plenty; but, for Real Madrid supporters, I’m sure everyone, myself included, was hoping for more goals.
Here are some observations from a great victory
In a nutshell, Vinicius Jr. demolished Barcelona’s defense
This was definitely and clearly one of Vinicius Junior’s greatest Real Madrid performances of the year, if not of his career. Given that some Real Madrid supporters genuinely want this player benched, it seems absurd that his Supercopa final hat-trick was the second fastest in Clasico history.
Vinicius devoured each and every defender for Barcelona. He executed everything flawlessly. His judgment was nearly always impeccable, and the majority of the time, the weight of his passes was almost flawless. Throughout the entire game, Araujo and Kounde were terrified of his dribbling.
With nine finals under his belt, Vinicius already has 10 goals and 9 assists, which is an incredible total for a young player. It makes sense why Cristiano Ronaldo is his hero.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona, The game that proved to the world Jude Bellingham’s continued status as a midfield player
For the most of his stay in the Spanish capital, Jude Bellingham has been regarded as a goal-scoring poacher. While some who merely focus on his goals have no trouble claiming he just scores goals, those who watch his performances week in and week out are aware that this is untrue.
Jude Bellingham had one of his best football career performances to date with this one. He was creating chances all through the game and there were moments in the second half when he was gliding all over the pitch with the ball, dribbling past defenseless Barcelona players at will and throwing exquisite passes.
It was as though Bellingham wanted everyone to know that he was far, far superior to every Barcelona player, whether on the field or in the fans.
Apart from that, Jude Bellingham’s defense, the way he set up numerous opportunities for Real Madrid in the first half, and the way he tracked his runners, tricking them into thinking he was there only to intercept passes and attack on the break, left me wondering if he was human.
The ideal game
Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. weren’t the only players who performed well in this match. Everyone was in on it, including the starting lineup, bench, and coaching staff. Nearly everything was done correctly, and it was easy to see how far apart the two teams were.
Andriy Lunin was excellent once more, proving to everyone that he is far superior to Kepa. The defense was strong; players Ferland Mendy and Nacho Fernandez, who have both received criticism for their play this season, had by far their best outing of the campaign. Once again, Dani Carvajal was outstanding; she had a lot of grit and intensity. The midfield performed flawlessly. In midfield, Fede Valverde performed miracles, battling for every ball, slipping past Barcelona’s defense, and moving the ball forward. Once again, Toni Kroos was amazing.
Much of the credit should also go to Carlo Ancelotti, who devised the ideal strategy, playing through the press and punishing Barcelona for fielding such a high line against three of the world’s best players in open space. Real Madrid dominated the first half, frightening the living daylights out of the Barcelona defense every time they attacked, with the exception of ten minutes in the latter half.