Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid
Barcelona are the 2025 Copa del Rey champions after Jules Kounde hit a sweet strike late in extra time to pound a stake through the hearts of their El Clasico rivals.
A screamer of a shot from midfielder Pedri gave Barcelona a deserved lead but the introduction of Kylian Mbappe changed the game and the French star slammed home a leveller for Real Madrid, before Aurelien Tchouameni headed Los Blancos ahead. Barca hit back through Ferran Torres to take the game to extra time.
And Kounde did the rest to keep Hansi Flick’s side on target for the treble.
Highlights of the game
The injury to Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski gave Torres his chance up front and the Spain star was lively from the start, breaking the Madrid lines early on and winning a corner. And with Brazil winger Raphinha pulling the strings, the Blaugrana were all over Los Blancos in the early phases of the final. Lamine Yamal was inches away from opening the scoring but his shot, on 20 minutes, flew narrowly wide. Jules Kounde was next to attack the Madrid goal and Thibaut Courtois made a great diving save to keep out the defender’s header. It seemed like a matter of time until Barcelona would score and then…
Lamine Yamal passed to Pedri just outside the box and he hit a beauty into the top left corner to send the Barcelona fans wild. It was no more than the Catalans deserved and fitting that Pedri, who has been superb since his return from injury, scored. Take a look at the Copa del Rey 2025 highlights at the 28 minute mark; you won’t be disappointed.
Barca could and maybe should have been further ahead at the break as Dani Olmo hit the post but the margin stayed at 1-0 at half time.
The Blaugrana came out in the second half seeking a killer second goal and Raphinha stung Courtois’ palms with a shot from distance. But then Los Blancos finally came alive and Wojciech Szczesny made a brave double save to deny Vinicius Junior. And after such a lacklustre first half, Carlo Ancelotti brought on Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler to try to ignite a recovery. And Real Madrid were suddenly a match for Barca as Inigo Martinez deflected an Mbappe shot away for a corner. But the France captain soon had his moment when he won a free-kick just outside the area. The Barca wall was poorly set up and Mbappe drilled his free-kick into the bottom left corner.
The Blaugrana could hardly believe they’d been pegged back and they went back on the attack, but Los Blancos were dangerous on the break and once again Martinez denied Mbappe. Barca rued their missed chances and things got even worse for Flick’s team when, seven minutes after Mbappe equalised, Tchouameni headed Los Blancos into the lead.
Barcelona looked lost, but they weren’t! Yamal played a great ball over the top for Torres and he rounded Courtois at pace before sliding a brilliant shot home. There was huge drama in the last minute of normal time when Raul Asensio tripped Raphinha and the ref pointed to the spot; but after a long VAR intervention, the game went to extra time.
It looked like we were heading for penalties until Kounde picked up the ball 25 yards out, took a step forward and fired his shot low into the corner to spark bedlam in Seville.
Key statistics
This was the eighth Copa del Rey final meeting between the two sides and now it’s four each.
Both teams won their semi-finals 5-4 on aggregate and we expected goals in this showcase final. The Copa del Rey 2025 betting odds here at SBOTOP favoured the Catalans and they totally bossed the first half, and with nine shots to one and four to none on target they could have been further ahead than a solitary goal.
Madrid fought back and by the end of normal time they were close on the shots on target tally at seven to Barcelona’s eight.
What’s next?
Second placed Real Madrid’s title bid is still on after they overcame Getafe in midweek, keeping the gap at the top to four points, but the Blaugrana’s goal difference is far superior which gives them an extra edge. Ancelotti’s team’s best chance of chasing Barca down is in the next chapter of El Clasico on 11th May when the two clubs meet in Catalonia for a La Liga shootout.
Should the Blaugrana win that match it is surely game over for Real Madrid.
If they fluff their lines against Los Blancos then Hansi Flick’s team have a testing run-in, finishing with a trip away to Champions League chasing Athletic Bilbao. Los Blancos have some tasty fixtures too and they finish up with a home clash against Real Sociedad.
In the meantime, Barcelona have a Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan next Wednesday as…
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