Real Madrid crowns itself with the King’s Cup
Real Madrid won their twentieth Copa del Rey this Saturday at the Estadio de La Cartuja, beating Osasuna (2-1) in the final, who believed until the end, with a goal by Lucas Torró, but left without the spoils thanks to a brace by Brazilian Rodrygo Goes, in a Merengue team that made use of its experience in this type of matches and its lethal ‘punch’ to regain the cup throne nine years later. Despite the fact that the ‘rojillos’ were supported by more than 22,000 throats much louder and more dedicated than those of Madrid, the Pamplona team will not return home with the trophy. Real Madrid returned to reign in the Spanish soccer festival nine years later thanks to a great Vinicius, protagonist on the left flank, and the double of his compatriot Rodrygo, in the most effective and accurate version of the whites.
Real Madrid’s 20th Cup
Jagoba Arrasate’s men, who suffered the first blow after just two minutes, equalized the match with a goal from Torró after the break and came close to achieving the feat, as they did in 2005. In the end, it will be Los Blancos who will add to their trophy cabinet with their 20th Copa del Rey, the first since 2014, the only title that Ancelotti was ‘missing’ in his second stint on the Merengue bench. After the tremendous whistling of the national anthem by the entire Osasuna crowd, the match started ‘just like that’ for Real Madrid. It didn’t take Vinicius a minute to be a dagger on the left, stepping on the baseline after two good dribbles to give the goal to Rodrygo, who finished at pleasure inside the area. Los Blancos were aware that this early goal could allow them to sail in a tide with more spaces in which they feel very comfortable.
Osasuna did not give up
However, the Madrid goal did not create more spaces, as the ‘rojillos’ calmed down after starting off very disoriented. The step back of Ancelotti’s team gave wings on the wings to Osasuna, very incisive on the left of a Camavinga with less defensive clarity, enjoying up to three chances with headers that Courtois caught without too many problems. Meanwhile, Real Madrid only woke up with Vinicius, the most passionate and active of the Whites, who served a low ball to Rodrygo. The latter missed and the rebound was picked up by Benzema, but his shot was saved by Herrera. The Pamplona side responded just two minutes later, when Abde took advantage of a slip by Militao and was all alone in front of Courtois, but Carvajal saved his lob from the Belgian almost on the goal line.
Vinicius, the best of the match
In a duel of equals, Real Madrid continued to insist on the left with Vinicius ‘in his element’ who sent a curling shot over a ‘rojilla’ goal that Alaba had previously made Alaba tremble with a free kick. Meanwhile, Osasuna lived off the occasional mistake at the start by the Whites, with less success than usual. The first half ended with a yellow card to Vinicius for protesting an action, which caused the ‘rojilla’ stands to explode with cries of ‘fool’ towards the Brazilian. The Brazilian, who had his ups and downs with Peña, responded to the Navarra fans by pointing to his team’s shield.
Osasuna goal
Real Madrid was playing with fire because of its short income and, at the start of the second half, Osasuna found its reward with a tremendous goal by Torró, who collected a ball at the front and with a precise and powerful whip beat Courtois. The equalizer unleashed madness in the effervescent ‘rojilla’ stands, who saw how their team restarted the match and took the colors out of a more disordered white team.
Rodrygo scored the second goal and it was all over
The goal left Real Madrid shaken, but not knocked out, and they once again used their lethal ‘pegada’ to make it 2-1 in the final stretch. Once again it was Rodrygo who found a rebound almost in the six-yard box to poke the ball just wide of Herrera. There were doubts, as Camavinga could have gone over the end line driving the ball, but the goal was on the scoreboard. White ecstasy to celebrate the second goal in only three shots on goal so far in the match. Without time for much more, Real Madrid retreated and focused on not suffering any cracks that would give life to an Osasuna side that had been left downhearted by the second Madrid goal. Ancelotti, who had brought on Rüdiger before the goal to play Camavinga as a pivot, also gave minutes to a Modric who recovered in record time and who, it seems, will be able to play against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Ancelotti, very happy
However, Arrasate’s substitutions had no effect, as he brought on two fresh wingers and a ‘Chimy’ Ávila who could not win the battle against Militao and Alaba. Not even in desperation did Osasuna manage to equalize, with a very clear one in stoppage time, which left the back more sloppy and suffered the occasional transition from Vinicius, without the scoreboard undergoing any further changes. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was «happy» and «tired» after beating (2-1) CA Osasuna on Saturday in the final of the Copa del Rey, to conquer «all the titles in two seasons» before already thinking about Manchester City and the first leg of the Champions League semifinals. «It was a final in a very nice atmosphere, against a very strong opponent. We suffered at times, but we deserved to win, not only for what we did today, but also for our path in the competition,» he told a press conference at La Cartuja.
