Barcelona picked up their second trophy of the season and moved one step closer to a historic quadruple with a 3-2 win against Real Madrid in extra time of the 2024/25 Copa del Rey final.
A stunning finish from Pedri gave Barça a deserved first-half lead after a dominant start, with Dani Olmo coming within inches of doubling the advantage with a corner that clipped the far post.
Real Madrid, twice denied by offside calls in the first half, found their rhythm after the break. Kylian Mbappé equalised with a free-kick threaded through a disorganised Barça wall, and Aurélien Tchouaméni’s header soon after seemed to have sealed a comeback win in Sevilla.
But Ferran Torres struck late to level the score once again, and although referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea sparked yet more controversy as he awarded a stoppage-time penalty to Barça, the decision was overturned by VAR and a period of extra time ensued.
Jules Koundé pounced on a loose ball from Luka Modrić in the final five minutes of extra time to secure the trophy for Barcelona, who now have a LaLiga title to wrap up and a UEFA Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan on the horizon.
Barcelona will meet Real Madrid again in LaLiga on Sunday 11 May at Montjuïc, with kick-off set at 15:15 BST [16:15 CEST].
As it happened
Barcelona started well at La Cartuja as they sought to move one step closer to a remarkable quadruple. Lamine Yamal went close early on with a low strike that flew just wide of the post, while Real Madrid’s back line was weakened early on as Ferland Mendy was forced off through injury.
The breakthrough came before the half-hour mark when Barça took a deserved lead as a flowing move saw Yamal beat multiple defenders before slipping the ball to Pedri, who rifled a brilliant shot into the roof of the net.
Los Blancos thought they had equalised through Jude Bellingham shortly after, but the goal was chalked off for offside and the Blaugrana could smell blood; Dani Olmo nearly extended their advantage minutes before the break with a corner that sailed through a crowded box and struck the base of the far post.
But Real Madrid burst into life after the break and Kylian Mbappé, introduced as a half-time substitute, quickly made his mark on his first Copa del Rey final. He levelled the score with a free-kick that exploited a glaring gap in Barcelona’s wall.
Parity lasted just 7 minutes, as Aurélien Tchouaméni rose above the defence to head home from a corner, flipping the game on its head and putting Real Madrid in control in Sevilla.
But a Clásico is nothing without unpredictable twists, and the next one arrived in the 84th minute when a hit-and-hope long ball from Yamal caught out Real Madrid’s back line. Ferran Torres took advantage of poor communication between Thibaut Courtois and Antonio Rüdiger, sliding the equaliser into an open goal.
In stoppage time, drama struck again when Barcelona were awarded a penalty when Raúl Asencio felled Raphinha inside the box, only for VAR to intervene and reverse the decision, showing the Brazilian a yellow card and sending the final into extra time.
Ferran Torres saw an effort fly wide of the far post in the first of the additional 15-minute periods, before being denied the apparent winner by the offside flag with 107 minutes on the clock after burying Fermín Lopez’s cross past Courtois.
But Barcelona did well to survive a pair of late scares as Bellingham made marauding runs into the penalty area, and their defensive solidity was rewarded by their right-back with just five minutes remaining of extra time. Koundé, venturing forward, pounced a rare loose pass from Luka Modrić and powered an effort past Courtois – sealing Barça’s status as the winners of the Copa del Rey.
The lineups
BAR: Szczęsny, Martín, Martínez, Cubarsí, Koundé; de Jong, Pedri; Raphinha, Olmo, Yamal; Torres
RMA: Courtois; Mendy, Rüdiger, Asencio, Vázquez; Tchouaméni; Ceballos, Bellingham, Valverde, Rodrigo; Vinícius Jr