Barcelona End Season with a Copa del Rey Final Victory

Barcelona have successfully defended their cup title by defeating rivals Sevilla at Vicente Calderon in the Copa del Rey final.

(Image credit: The Guardian)

After 90 minutes on the clock and 0-0 on the scoreline, the 114th edition of the Copa del Rey final went into extra time where the game was decide by two late goals from Barcelona. Messi provided the ball to defender Jordi Alba who netted it passed Sevilla’s goalie Sergio Rico in the 97th minute of the game, while Neymar struck another in the stoppage of extra time.

Sevilla had several chances on goal throughout the Copa del Rey final, however they weren’t able to convert any of them. The Catalan club proved to be the better side, as many online sportsbooks had predicted before the match. (Check out Betting Herald’s online sportsbook reviews and place your bets on the upcoming sports events.)

This year’s Copa del Rey final also had its fair share of rough tackles, which saw players from each side sent off and countless others receive bookings. Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano received a straight red for his challenge on Gameiro, while Sevilla’s Ever Banega got sent off in the 92nd minute of the Copa del Rey final. As the Andalusians were already losing 1-0 in extra time, Daniel Carrico received two yellow cards in a span of 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique highlighted his strategy was to wait until half-time before implementing changes to his squad. “We decided to wait till half-time to decide what to do. We had lots of options: take off the striker, a midfielder, one of the other defenders,” Enrique said. “In fact, this is probably the game of the entire season with the most decisions to make … and decisions to avoid making. But leaving (Busquets) at center-back a team with Gameiro, so quick, seemed too risky.”

(Image credit: Sky Sports)

Although they’ve failed to progress past the quarter-finals in the Champions League, Enrique believes his side have had a marvelous campaign. “It has been a spectacular end to the season. We won all our (five) final games to win La Liga trophy. And this was a difficult final for us, many minutes with a player less against a good side.”

“This team is made up of champions, who can compete despite all the difficulties they have faced over the campaign, and we are very happy for our fans who have come here with is at the end of a great season,” said the 46-year-old. “This team cannot show more character or personality. We had to defend and the team did that great – they all gave a little bit more. This team is made to attack, clearly, but when they had to defend, close up spaces, and counter, they knew what to do.”

Barcelona were looking to win the league long before the final games of the season, however a string of poor performances have forced them make changes in their defensive game. “We improved a lot defensively at the end of the season – and went many minutes (all last six games) without conceding. What we talked about and worked on towards the end of the La Liga season helped us with one player less against Sevilla. They did not create clear chances to score, which makes us very proud,” Enrique stressed.

Besides the Copa del Rey final, all the biggest football leagues in Europe held their cup finals over the last weekend as well, and there was plenty of exciting action. Pep Guardiola signed-off on his stay at Bavaria with a win over fierce rivals Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup final. Just like the Copa del Rey final, the game between Bayern and Dortmund went into extra time, however neither side was able to find the back of the net. Penalties ensued after a goalless extra time, which saw Guardiola’s men defeat BVB 4-3 from the spot, and thus lift the DFB Pokal for the second time during the Catalan’s three-year stay with the club.

(Image credit: Deutsche Welle)

AC Milan squared off against five-time successive Serie A champions Juventus in the Coppa Italia on Saturday, but they didn’t really impose themselves against the Turin side. After a scoreless 90 minutes, the match went into extra time when Alvaro Morata found the crucial goal in the 110th minute to hand Juventus the Coppa Italia title. Before the game took place, online sportsbooks got this one right as well, by strongly favouring Allegri’s men.

Iconic player Zlatan Ibrahimovic clinched one final trophy before his imminent departure from PSG – Coupe de France (the French Cup). The Parisiens overcame Marseille 4-2 to lift the cup title, with the Swedish striker providing an assist and two goals in the game. This brought his goal tally to an impressive 50 goals across all competitions during the 2015-16 campaign – his highest scoring season to date.

In England, Manchester United faced Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final last Saturday. After a 1-1 draw, the game was settled in extra time as substitute Jesse Lingard struck the winning goal in the 110th minute. Despite lifting the FA Cup trophy, it’s very likely that Man United manager Louis van Gaal will be departing the club after missing out Champions League football, according to BBC Sport.

With all the national cup winners of Europe now decided, the biggest game of the season is yet to come – the Champions League final. Real Madrid will play their cross-town rivals Altetico Madrid this Saturday (May 28) in a repeat of the 2014 final, that saw the former clinch its 10th European title. Online sportsbook Bet365 favours Los Blancos to win the match 2.40 (7/4), while a draw stands at 3.10 (21/10). Despite the fact that Atletico Madrid have underdog odds 3.10 (21/10), they’ve shown quite a few times this season what they’re capable of – overcoming giants like Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the quarter and semi-finals respectively.

(Check out Bet365 Sports Review for more info about the online sportsbook.)