Real Madrid couldn’t beat their big rivals Barcelona in the first two matches of this season. The third meeting was yesterday (Saturday) — the Copa del Rey final, another El Clasico. This time, it was a close and intense match, full of drama, with 5 goals and 3 red cards. Before the game, Lamine Yamal reportedly told his teammate Ronald Araujo, “Real won’t be able to beat Barca this season.”
Even before kickoff at Sevilla’s La Cartuja stadium, there was plenty of drama around the referee. During the game, Pedri scored first for Barca, but Real equalized through Aurélien Tchouaméni in the second half. Kylian Mbappe then gave Real the lead, but Ferran Torres quickly leveled for Barca again before the end of regular time. The match went into extra time, and in the 116th minute, Jules Koundé scored the winning goal to make it 3-2 for Barca.
Earlier this season, Real Madrid had suffered heavy defeats to Barcelona — losing 4-0 at home in La Liga and 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final. This is probably why Yamal was so confident. After all, Barca are on top of the table, leading by 4 points, and are in the Champions League semi-finals too. Dreaming of winning three major trophies, it’s no surprise Yamal boldly said Real wouldn’t be able to beat Barca — even before the Copa del Rey final.
“Today at the hotel, I told Ronaldo (Barcelona defender Araujo), ‘If they score one goal, it’s fine. If they score two goals, still no problem. They won’t be able to beat us this season.’ I proved that today, and I’m very happy,” said the 17-year-old forward to the media after winning the Copa del Rey.
After the big win, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick praised his players, saying, “They gave everything they had. It’s amazing — they didn’t give up for even a second. We are all very proud of this team. They deserve this win. It’s a huge achievement.”
Jules Koundé, who scored the winning goal in extra time and stopped two dangerous Real Madrid attacks, was specially praised by Flick. “What Jules did was simply incredible,” Flick said. “He stopped two big chances for Real and then scored the winning goal.”
However, Flick isn’t satisfied with just this title. He is aiming for a treble, saying, “There are still two matches left for us to win. Today was fantastic — the fans were amazing, from the streets to the stadium. Now, we’ll celebrate, then rest well. We have a great chance to win the treble, but we must work hard for it.”