Vinicius Junior spoke of his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo after emulating the all-time Real Madrid leading marksman's celebration while scoring a 32-minute hat-trick in the club's 4-1 demolition of Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday.
Brazil international Vinicius struck twice inside the first 10 minutes and added a penalty six minutes before the break as Madrid humiliated the reigning La Liga champions at Riyadh's King Saud University Stadium, where Ronaldo plays his club football for Saudi Pro League club side Al Nassr.
"I'm very excited about what we did today," the Player of the Match said after Madrid, who are seven points above Barca in the top flight, earned their second victory in the fixture this season an avenged their 3-1 loss to their Clasico rivals in this final a year ago.
"It's not easy to play against Barcelona and to win 4-1 is very difficult. The celebration was for Cristiano, who is my idol and is playing here now. The people of Arabia have shown a lot of love for me and I'm very happy about that."
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Real Madrid 'almost perfect' in Supercopa final – Vinicius
Barca had a flicker of hope when Robert Lewandowski briefly halved the deficit in between Vinicius's second and third goals, but Rodrygo compounded their misery by scoring after the interval before Vinicius' marker, Ronald Araujo, was sent off for a second yellow card.
"We put in an almost perfect performance," assessed Vinicius, thanking Madrid's medical team, staff and squad after continuing his comeback from a thigh injury in spectacular style. "We just needed to not concede that goal from Lewandowski.
"I'm not at my best yet because I've only played three games [since being injured], but I'm very happy with today's performance and I want to continue like this.
"I do my best to avoid injuries. I work hard at the club and at home, I eat healthily and I try to do my best. I want to follow in the footsteps of all the players at the club, who do the correct things to always be available, but sometimes it's not possible.
"I've never had injuries [before] and I've had my first ones this season. I've been very down but I never give up at this club."
Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti was understandably keen to praise Vinicius' impact against Barca after the 23-year-old became the fourth player in the 21st century to score a hat-trick in El Clasico, following in the footsteps of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Karim Benzema.
"Vinicius has done very well in the Clasicos," said the Italian. "Sometimes it's harder for him because Araujo is a world-class defender, but today he looked for the inside and not so much on the outside.
"We're very dangerous because there is mobility up front and we don't have fixed attackers. This means that our opponents can't mark us, because Vinicius, [Jude] Bellingham and Rodrygo are mobile. They also have help from the full-backs and that creates a lot of problems for the opposition."
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'Grateful' Ancelotti targets La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League
Madrid take on Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey on Thursday and are a point behind La Liga leaders Girona with a match in hand.
Their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against RB Leipzig begins with the first leg in February, and Ancelotti said he would be kept grounded for the challenges ahead by everyone around him.
"I'm really grateful to a club that supports me and shows me affection in return," he said, underlining a mutual appreciation that led him to sign a contract extension until 2026 in December. "I'm up in the clouds — but when I come down from the cloud, you'll be there to wake me up."
Ancelotti told his players to mark Barcelona midfielders Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Sergi Roberto while leaving their defenders "free", said midfielder Fede Valverde.
"The coach asked us to look for long passes," he added. "We stuck together when it came to defending and were quick in attack.
"We have to enjoy every moment and treasure these trophies. We've won the Super Cup against the best opponents in Spain. There are still a lot of competitions left and we have a very important game against Atletico.
"When I go into the dressing room, they'll all be talking about Atletico. I wish time could freeze at this moment and that my family and all the fans in Spain could be there to enjoy these times."
Barcelona can still win trophies in 2023/24, says manager Xavi
There was precious little to enjoy for Barcelona manager Xavi. "The way we started the game affected us a lot," he said, apologising to the club's fans. "We gave away far too much.
"We weren't the team we wanted to be. We weren't pressing properly but the penalty hit us very hard. We simply weren't up to the level required of a competition like this. We're furious with ourselves and we need to improve a lot if we are going to fight for titles this season."
Xavi's players should have an easier time against third-tier opponents Unionistas de Salamanca in the Copa del Rey next. Fourth in La Liga, Barca will require a far better second half of the season if they are to mount a title defence and win their Champions League tie against reigning Italian champions Napoli.
"There is a long season still ahead and we now have to keep battling for the trophies that are left," said Xavi. "We need to stay strong. We'll be back. We can still have a good season because we have all the [motivation] to do just that."