Nine-man Real Madrid produced a stunning second-half performance to defeat Valencia and win the Spanish Supercopa on Sunday night.
Trailing 3-2 from the first leg Madrid looked dead and buried at half-time at the Bernabeu as they went in 1-0 down and had also seen Rafael van der Vaart sent-off.
Ruud van Nistelrooy managed to pull a goal back just after half-time, but when the Dutchman was also dismissed midway through the second period, it seemed Madrid's hopes had disappeared.
But despite playing with two men less, the reigning Spanish champions stunned Valencia with goals from Sergio Ramos and substitutes Ruben de la Red and Gonzalo Higuain in the final 13 minutes to take the cup 6-5 on aggregate, Fernando Morientes netting a late effort for Los Che.
The hosts took control early on and visiting goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand was soon in the action, saving long-range efforts from Van der Vaart and two from Van Nistelrooy.
Madrid fell behind against the run of play in the 33rd minute though, when David Silva fired home past fellow Spain international Iker Casillas from the edge of the box.
Valencia had barely threatened as an attacking force until that point but a neat move resulted in Silva picking the ball up 25 yards out, taking a touch before firing a low shot into the corner of the net.
Silva's goal was a blow for Madrid but it was to get worse for the two-time reigning Spanish champions as they had summer signing Van der Vaart sent off just before the break.
The Dutchman was shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on Valencia winger Juan Manuel Mata that left the former Madrid youngster writhing in agony and Van der Vaart heading for an early bath.
Now behind 4-2 on aggregate and reduced to 10 men, Madrid had a mountain to climb at half-time if they were to avoid a repeat of last season's Supercopa, where they lost 6-3 to Sevilla.
However, an impressive start to the second half gave Bernd Schuster's men a fighting chance of overcoming their problems.
Just four minutes in they were handed the opportunity to get back on level terms from the penalty spot when Raul Albiol handled the ball in trying to block Van Nistelrooy's goalbound far-post header.
Albiol escaped with just a yellow card, much to the annoyance of the home fans, but Van Nistelrooy made sure the opportunity was not wasted as he thumped home the resulting penalty.
That was just the boost Madrid would have been hoping for, and the hosts plowed forward in earnest after that.
Arjen Robben went close three times, twice bringing stops out of Hildebrand and also hitting the side-netting, while Pepe should have done better with a free header from a corner.
Madrid were looking good value to get another goal but they suffered a huge blow in the 72nd minute when Van Nistelrooy was also sent off after picking up a second yellow card for a challenge on Ruben Baraja.
That appeared to be the end of the champions' hopes, but the nine men showed tremendous fighting spirit and they took a shock lead just five minutes later through Ramos.
Mahamadou Diarra should have scored himself, but when his header from Guti's corner smashed back off the crossbar, Ramos capitalised on a favourable deflection off of a Valencia defender to lash the ball into the roof of the net.
Despite their numerical advantage, Valencia looked stuck in neutral, although David Villa did produce a fine save from Casillas with six minutes remaining.
That proved a crucial stop by Spain's Euro 2008-winning captain as just moments later substitute De la Red curled home Madrid's third goal.
There appeared little on for the midfielder as he raced forward, but he tried his luck from 25 yards out and was rewarded as his effort found it's way past Hildebrand, who might have done better after getting his hand to the ball.
That was not the end of the scoring though, as Madrid notched a fourth almost immediately following an awful mistake by Alexis.
The Valencia centre-back's attempted pass-back sold Hildebrand short and Higuain nipped in, rounded the visiting custodian before slotting home.
Valencia pulled a goal back late on through former Madrid hitman Morientes but it was not enough to deny Schuster's troops a stunning success.
