Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao was in inspired form once again as his hat-trick led Atletico Madrid to victory over Chelsea. Reuters

Radamel Falcao produced a stunning display as he scored a second hat-trick in a week to help Atletico Madrid overcome Chelsea 4-1 in the Uefa Super Cup.

The Colombian striker put Chelsea to the sword with three goals in the first-half to leave the Champions League winners with no way back after the break. Miranda scored a fourth for Atletico on the hour mark, before Gary Cahill scored a consolation.

Having also scored three against Athletic Bilbao on Monday, it capped a memorable few days for Falcao, who again staked his claim to be considered the best striker in the world.

It was not all about Falcao, though, with Adrian Lopez and Arda Turan also helping to cut open Chelsea's defense, particularly in the opening 45 minutes.

The Europa League winners could have been ahead as early as the third minute. Filipe Luis cut the ball back from the left and Falcao arriving at the back post struck the ball past Petr Cech but flush against the crossbar.

Chelsea did not heed the warning. Played clean through the middle Falcao showed his sublime finishing touch to dink a shot over Cech and evade the back-tracking David Luiz on the line, as the ball bounced in off the post.

While that finish was impressive his second goal was arguably even better. Chelsea's defending left much to be desired as Falcao was allowed to gather the ball on the edge of the area, but what happened next was all about the striker's brilliance. Falcao gained half a yard of space as she shifted the ball inside before curling a superb shot round Ashley Cole and into the far corner past Cech.

Falcao nearly made it 3-0 10 minutes before the break. Adrian made a mess of what looked a golden chance at the back post as he almost completely missed his kick, but the ball eventually came toward Falcao, who headed the ball against the upright.

Chelsea's reprieve did not last long. Arda Turan was allowed to progress to the edge of the area before sliding the ball to the left and Falcao burst past Ramires with ease before firing a low shot through Cech at his near post. It was a fitting finish to a half in which Falcao had almost single-handedly ravaged the Chelsea backline.

Things got even worse for Chelsea early in the second-half. A free-kick from Atletico eventually made its way to the feet of defender Miranda, who dinked it through the hands of Cech and, sliding back toward goal, Cahill could only help the ball into the net.

Former Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres and half-time substitute Oscar had efforts form the edge of the box, but were unable to threaten Atletico's Chelsea-owned goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Chelsea did give their fans some brief cheer late on, though. After Atletico failed to clear a free-kick Cahill slammed home a low shot through Courtois from 10 yards.

While the Premier League side appeared to view the match as little more than a glamorous friendly, Atletico's celebrations at the final whistle showed how much the victory and the silverware meant to them.

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