They were made to wait until the 116th minute of play for confirmation, but Barcelona fans will tonight celebrate a 32nd Copa del Rey title as they beat Real Madrid 3-2 in a final rife with drama.
After regular time ended with two goals for either club, a laboured period of extra-time looked certain to deliver a penalty shootout, before Jules Kounde rifled a low shot home from 25 yards to put Barcelona back in front with no time for Los Blancos to react.
In a season where Barcelona had come out on top in both prior Clasicos, the onus was on Real to preserve their honour. With so much riding on the occasion, the Derby atmosphere was tangible, the vitriol plentiful as the two sides played out a Clasico for the ages and Barcelona made it a hat-trick of wins over their most hated rivals this season.
Pedri opened the scoring in the first half with a wonderful strike, perfectly balancing power and placement as he drilled his shot well beyond Courtois.
That advantage would last through to half-time, at which stage Real woke up. Ancelotti introduced the big guns, adding Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric, totally reversing the match’s momentum as he did so.
The match was every bit a Derby
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Mbappe’s ankle injury was clearly long forgotten as he caused Barcelona’s back-line all sorts of problems with his pace and power. He scored a stunning free-kick with 20 minutes remaining, and could have added a second moments later if not for Pau Cubarsi’s late block.
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Just a few minutes later, though, it all looked to be over as Aurelien Tchouameni headed home from Luka Modric’s corner. Barcelona were left bewildered, going from a place of total control to a goal behind in just seven minutes, and white ribbons were all but hung on the trophy.
Not if Lamine Yamal had anything to say about it. He looped a perfect pass over the top to put Ferran Torres through on goal – Courtois looked to claim it but was caught in no man’s land, and the Spaniard finished into an empty net to force extra time.
VAR took centre stage in injury time after referee Ricardo de Burgos had been criticized in the build-up to the match
AP
There would be more drama before the final whistle, though. A Barcelona penalty would be overturned after a lengthy VAR check, with the aggrieved Raphinha eventually booked for simulation, and Vinicius would leave the field of play injured.
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It was a level playing field heading into extra time, then. The first quarter of an hour came and went with little notable action. It seemed as though the same would be true in the second half, before Kounde’s effort put Barca ahead at a crucial juncture.
There were ugly scenes after the 120th minute as an incensed Rudiger launched ice packs at referee Ricardo de Burgos, earning a red card for his troubles, but that would not affect the result.
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Tonight, it will be the famous Balugrana celebrating into the small hours. They will not forget this match in a hurry.
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