BARCELONA made their sixth successive Copa del Rey final, inflicting humiliation on Real Madrid by claiming a 3-0 win second leg win (4-1 on aggregate) over their capital rivals.
However, the scoreline did not tell the full story of the game. This was a puzzling performance and result for Real Madrid, who created more chances than the Catalans and should have found the net at least once.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen make a couple of big saves to keep Barca level in the first half, stopping Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema on more than one occasion. Real Madrid were made to rue those spurned opportunities.
Luis Suarez gave Barcelona the lead with an excellent finish at the near post after a cut back from Ousmane Dembele. Ter Stegen then made another crucial save at a crucial time, stopping Sergio Reguilon from restoring parity with a header from a Vinicius cross into the middle.
However, an own goal from Raphael Varane, who had no choice but to slide into his own net in an effort to stop a cross across the face of goal from reaching Suarez, effectively killed the contest. Suarez himself added the finishing touches, sending a Panenka penalty down the middle to complete the humiliation for the hosts.
Real Madrid must sharpen up or face more defeats like this. On the basis of shots on goal, Real Madrid dominated. They mustered 14 efforts, while Barcelona registered just four. So taking the final scoreline into account, what does that say about Santiago Solari’s side? Well, it says they must sharpen up in front of goal or there will be more nights like this one. They have already been here this season. Vinicius, for all his brilliance and promise, could use some finishing training. – Eurosport