Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid: Copa del Rey final review | OneFootball

Real Madrid ended their Copa del Rey as runners-up in the competition after losing 3-2 to Barcelona in the final at the Estadio La Cartuja in Sevilla on Saturday.

The match got underway uncharacteristically for the Whites as Ferland Mendy was injured and had to be substituted just eight minutes into proceedings. Their performance for the entirety of the first half was also extremely disappointing as they looked like a bunch of amateurs with no cohesion with or without the ball.

Barcelona got a deserved lead before the half hour as Pau Cubarsi, Pedri and Lamine Yamal linked up on a counter-attack. The midfielder unleashed a beautiful finish past Thibaut Courtois to give the Catalans a deserved lead.

In the second half, however, Real Madrid were the better team, and once Kylian Mbappe was introduced at half-time, with Arda Guler and Luka Modric also coming on soon afterwards, there was hope that they could turn the game around.

On the 70th minute, Mbappe converted a free-kick from close range after relentless pressure from Los Blancos for the equaliser and just seven minutes later, Aurelien Tchouameni towered above the Barca defence off Guler’s corner to give his side a 2-1 lead.

Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni celebrates after scoring against Barcelona [Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images]

As Barcelona started to desperately search for an equaliser, a terrible communication error between Antonio Rudiger and Thibaut Courtois allowed Ferran Torres to round the goalkeeper and make it 2-2 just six minutes prior to full-time.

Six minutes of stoppage time followed and at the very end, the referee pointed to the penalty spot for Barcelona after Raphinha was deemed to have been fouled by Raul Asencio in the box. VAR did intervene, however, and the decision was reversed as the Brazilian had clearly dived, so extra time followed.

The 30 minutes that followed were an even affair with neither side able to carve out any big chances in the Andalusian heat. The Catalans would, however, take the lead four minutes before the end of extra time as Luka Modric’s pass was misread by Brahim Diaz, who allowed Jules Kounde to equalise from distance.

Real Madrid had four minutes to find an equaliser but it was not meant to be and to make matters worse, all hell broke loose after the match which led to Jude Bellingham, Lucas Vazquez and Rudiger receiving red cards.

All things considered, Real Madrid put up a good show and should ideally have won the match after creating better chances and dominating in the second half, but two individual errors and not closing down Pedri in time for the night’s opening goal really summed up how lacklustre they have been this season.

Los Blancos have five more La Liga outings, including El Clasico, in their bid to finish the season on a positive note. While they continue to stand a chance in the top flight, beyond any reasonable doubt, Barcelona are in a strong position to secure the Spanish championship as well.

After a week’s rest, the team returns to action in the league against Celta Vigo on May 3rd at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in a string of match that are likely to be Ancelotti’s last as the Real Madrid coach.