Barcelona seal the cup in comeback win
Barcelona edges one step closer to the treble after coming from behind to beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final. Goals from Pedri, Ferran Torres and Jules Kounde were enough to seal the victory over their bitter rivals Real Madrid.
Kylian Mbappe and Aurelian Tchouameni were on the scoresheet for Real Madrid as they threatened to steal the Copa del Rey from the Blaugrana.
This was also their 1st Copa del Rey since 2021 where they had comfortably beaten Athletic Club 4-0.
There was tension in the build up to this clash with Madrid boycotting pre-match Copa del Rey activities in protest of the referee selection.
Pedri once again bosses proceedings
Pedri proved to be the chief orchestrator with the Spanish playmaker bossing the first half with his vision, creativity, passing and opening goal. Yamal was another name for Barcelona who Los Blancos simply could not contain as the teenage sensation provided two assists in the final. Despite managing to control most of the match there was a large portion of the second half where Barcelona looked nervy. The defining moment of the match was arguably when Raphinha was brought down by Asencio but had a penalty overturned by VAR. Barcelona managed to shake off some unwanted pressure though from a threatening Real Madrid to edge their rivals once again this season. Barcelona will now turn their attention to Inter on Wednesday.
Minor mistakes cost Los Blancos
This was a game Real Madrid desperately needed to win after blowing out to Arsenal in the Champions League in embarrassing fashion. With Barcelona in control in La Liga the Copa del Rey may have been Los Blancos’ last chance to take something from this season. Real Madrid started the game on a bad note being dominated by Barcelona and not creating any chances in the first half. However when Mbappe was introduced Madrid looked alot more threatening and created plenty of opportunities. Real Madrid were on the verge of securing a win against the odds against Barcelona but a blunder from Courtois allowed Barca back in the game. Kounde then capitalized on a loose pass from Modric which allowed Barcelona to win
