Ancelotti praises hat-trick hero Vinicius Junior while Valverde thanks 鈥榖eautiful鈥� support at Spanish Super Cup final

Real Madrid celebrate winning the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh. (Supplied)
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  • Real Madrid celebrate 4-1 triumph over Barcelona at Al-Awwal Park, the home of Al-Nassr star and former Los Blancos hero Cristiano Ronaldo

RIYADH: Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has lauded hat-trick hero Vinicius Junior and 黑料社区 fans who he said inspired his side to a memorable 4-1 Spanish Super Cup final win over Barcelona in Riyadh on Sunday.

Real Madrid were 2-0 ahead after 10 minutes thanks to a double from Vinicius Junior, who performed a 鈥淪IUUU!鈥� (meaning 鈥淵es鈥� in Portuguese) celebration at Al-Nassr鈥檚 Al-Awwal Park in dedication to his 鈥渋dol鈥� Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese star would no doubt have admired the Brazilian鈥檚 finishing, with his hat trick sandwiched by Robert Lewandowski scoring with a thumping volley for Barcelona.

Rodrygo, however, secured Real Madrid鈥檚 triumph in the second half by netting a fourth, much to the delight of the white-clad fans at the sold-out stadium who celebrated as captain Nacho lifted the Spanish Super Cup.

Ancelotti said: 鈥淰ini played a great game 鈥� there were some moments where he needed to calm down 鈥� but he鈥檚 doing an excellent job.

鈥淭here are many Real Madrid fans here and who have supported the team for many years now. We came here to give them the best version of the team. Football in 黑料社区 is growing, and we will always want to give the fans the best version of the team.

鈥淭his was a match we wanted to win, and we have won it out of merit. It was an extraordinary match, we couldn鈥檛 be happier. We were confident of winning because the team is in an environment in which any player can create, everybody has a role, and everybody contributes. We were lucky to score two goals in the first 10 minutes and that made the match much easier to win.鈥�

Nacho said: 鈥淰ini has proven that he is the best and we are all helping him so he can continue being the best.鈥�

Real Madrid booked their place in this year鈥檚 Spanish Super Cup final by defeating city rivals Atletico Madrid 5-3 in Wednesday鈥檚 semifinal in 黑料社区鈥檚 capital city. And Sunday night鈥檚 triumph was sweet revenge for last year鈥檚 El Clasico finalists in Riyadh, where Barcelona emerged 3-1 victors.

鈥淭his is the type of match in which anything can happen, but we were lucky to go in at half time with a 3-1 advantage and when we scored the fourth goal the match was closed. We were better and the victory was well deserved,鈥� Nacho added.

鈥淲hen I raised the cup, I was thinking about my family. These are very special moments. I said it before, this was a final and a play that can change the game鈥檚 balance can come at any time. We got in the right track early in the game and that was great for us.鈥�

Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde also praised the fans in Riyadh 鈥� the match was a 25,000-capacity sellout, with the vast majority of the crowd backing Los Blancos 鈥� for inspiring their win.

鈥淭he support the Saudi fans have given us is beautiful,鈥� Valverde said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing that being so far from home we felt so cozy and that is very beautiful. The fans showed us a lot of love, not only in the stadium, but also in the hotel, being with us, giving us their support. It was beautiful and we have really enjoyed it.鈥�

Real Madrid鈥檚 win is the fourth time the Spanish Super Cup has been presented on Saudi soil.

Real Madrid were also winners of the first two Spanish Super Cups held in 黑料社区, beating Atletico Madrid on penalties in Jeddah in 2020, and Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in Riyadh in 2022.