FC Barcelona 3–2 Real Madrid Player Ratings: FC Barcelona Clinch the Copa Del Rey Title in a Nerve-Wracking Affair

It was a thrilling El Clasico final again as FC Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-2 in added time to clinch their 32nd Copa del Rey title in Seville. Goals from Pedri, Ferran Torres, and Jules Kounde secured the win for the Blaugrana, whilst the goalscorers for Los Blancos were Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni. This is the 2nd trophy with the club for the manager Hansi Flick, having won the Supercopa de España before.

As Robert Lewandowski and Alex Balde were out injured, Flick decided to put his faith in Ferran Torres and Gerard Martin respectively alongside Dani Olmo replacing Fermin Lopez. Kylian Mbappe was surprisingly benched for the final, with Ancelotti preferring a 4-4-2 formation, with both Brazilian forwards up top.

Barcelona found it very easy to carve through the Real Madrid midfield in the early stages of the match. Raphinha almost scored the opening goal from a free-kick, but Courtois got his fingertips on it to deny him. But, a few minutes later, it was Pedri who scored a fantastic, jaw-dropping goal from outside the box, after Lamine Yamal passed it to him whilst creating space by drawing four Real Madrid players towards him.

Real Madrid, however, scored one a few minutes later as Bellingham capitalized on the error of Martinez, but it was rightfully deemed out for offside. The offside curse hit the Los Blancos again, this time at the stroke of half-time, as a penalty claim got ruled out, thus ending the first half with a single-goal lead for Barcelona.

Carlo Ancelotti did not waste any time and put Kylian Mbappe in place of Rodrygo to turn things around. As a result, Real Madrid started to look more lively, with Vinicius making a threatening run into Barcelona’s box and taking a well-placed shot, which Szczesny denied twice. Barcelona also created some fantastic counterattacks on the other end, but Raphinha managed to hit them wide.

Things took a turn in the match after Frenkie de Jong made a questionable foul on Kylian Mbappe to stop him, resulting in a free-kick near the edge of the box. Mbappe, who decided to take it, scored his first-ever free-kick goal, as the ball hit the back of the net after hitting the side bar.

A few minutes later, Real Madrid completed the turnaround as Aurelien Tchouameni scored a good header from the corner kick. Barcelona quickly hit back, as Ferran Torres did a fantastic job to go around Courtois and hit the empty net from the wider edge of the box. In the final moments of the match, a controversial foul of Raul Asencio on Raphinha, which the referee called a penalty, was rescinded after looking at the monitor, pushing the game to added time.

Apart from Ferran Torres’s goal getting disallowed for offside, the added time looked fairly moment-free, as both teams did not create deadly chances and were more concerned about the penalty shootout as each minute passed by.

However, out of nowhere, Jules Kounde scored a drilling shot from outside the box into the bottom corner to give Barcelona the lead again. Real Madrid, this time, did not have enough time to score the equaliser to push the game to a penalty shootout, leaving Barcelona as the victors. Here are the FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid player ratings.

Real Madrid Player Ratings

GK- Thibaut Courtois – 6.5/10

While he was helpless for the opening goal, he also made some splendid saves that kept his side in the game. However, his decision-making for the fourth goal of the night was questionable.

LB- Ferland Mendy – NA

The full-back was unfortunately injured very early in the match, which forced the manager to make an early substitution

CB- Antonio Rudiger – 6/10

It was a typical Rudiger display, often aggressive in duels, trying to win the ball back, decent on the ball to retain possession.

CB- Raul Asencio – 5.5/10

While the young centreback practiced and showed maturity in multiple instances, he was also erratic on some occasions, which was visible when he almost conceded a penalty very late in the match.

RB- Lucas Vazquez – 5/10

The defensive woes of the captain continued as he was tormented by the opposition. However, he looked decent going forward on some occasions.

CM- Jude Bellingham – 7/10

His dynamic movements, accompanied by his brilliance on the ball, made him a dangerous threat. But he made some clumsy and questionable fouls, which could have cost his side.

CM- Aurelin Tchouameni – 7.5/10

His engine and physicality breathed life into this midfield as he made some tenacious tackles and timely interceptions, which helped his side to get the ball back. He took his chance incredibly well to give his side the lead.

CM- Fede Valverde – 7/10

It was a signature Valverde performance, as he was the engine in midfield, stringing passes together and running tirelessly to cover for other players.

CM- Dani Ceballos – 5.5/10

While he worked tirelessly off the ball, he was constantly getting overrun by the opposition midfield, which was not helpful for his side.

ST- Vinicius Jr – 6/10

He was a constant threat with his blistering pace, accompanied by his fantastic eye for goal. He had some good ideas but lacked that final touch.

ST- Rodrygo – 5/10

While he did well to drive the ball forward and show some flashes of creativity, he failed to make a continuous impact and was rightfully subbed off after the end of the first half

SUB- Fran Garcia – 5.5/10

He was thrown into the mixer after the injury to Ferland Mendy. The young fullback struggled to contain Yamal, which allowed the latter to roam freely.

SUB- Kylian Mbappe – 8/10

The star attacker replaced Rodrygo in the second half to gain the dominance and turn the scorecard around, which he did by scoring a fantastic free-kick.

SUB- Arda Guler – 7/10

He was sent into the fray with around 35 minutes to make an impact in the place of Dani Ceballos. He did his job, providing a great inswinging cross from the corner, which ended up as an assist.

SUB- Luka Modric – 6.5/10

He entered the pitch to replace Lucas Vázquez, which allowed Valverde to move to the right back position.

SUB- Brahim Diaz – NA

The attacker entered the pitch to replace Vinicius to make things happen.

SUB- Endrick – NA

The Brazilian entered with a few minutes to go to try to do something.

Manager- Carlo Ancelotti – 7/10

It was another disappointing El Clasico result for the Italian, as his side looked toothless for a majority of the game, lacking the spark to create consistently good chances. Despite improving in the second half, it was sadly not enough.

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FC Barcelona Player Ratings

GK- Wojciech Szczesny – 7/10

While Real Madrid made threatening runs, they did not hit many shots in the first half, thus rendering their services less valuable. But, whenever needed, he stepped in and made some good saves

LB- Gerard Martin – 5.5/10

Playing as a deputy to Alex Balde, he could not replicate his performances as he struggled to offer anything going forward and looked erratic in defense.

CB- Inigo Martinez – 6/10

Apart from that brainfade moment, which fortunately did not cost his team, it was a solid display from the veteran, as he did well to cut the attacks off cleverly, reading the game well. 

CB- Pau Cubarsi – 6.5/10

Some of the passes he pulled off were extraordinary, which were pivotal to the dominating style of play Barcelona plays. He played a big part in the opening goal of the night.

RB- Jules Kounde – 6.5/10

A solid performance defensively, backing it up with an equally good run forward. He did not give any space to the opposition’s wide attackers, locking them up comfortably.

CM- Frenkie de Jong – 5.5/10

He provided balance to the midfield, connecting the defensive structure to the attackers to help his side maintain the rhythm. However, his clumsy foul cost his side an equaliser.

CM- Pedri – 8.5/10

He was the heart of the midfield as usual, stringing passes from the deep, assisting the other attackers well during the buildup play. To add to that, he scored a fantastic goal to open the account for his side.

CM- Dani Olmo – 6.5/10

He played well as a tirelessly hardworking midfielder, running tirelessly and showing a hunger to win the ball. But he lacked the killer instinct to put those final balls away.

LW- Raphinha – 6.5/10

It was an electric performance on that flank from him, toying with defenders, dropping deep occasionally, linking up excellently with his teammates, especially Dani Olmo. His defensive work rate was notable too, helping his defense out whenever needed. But his finishing looked off on a lot of occasions.

ST- Ferran Torres – 7/10

Deputizing for Robert Lewandowski, while he got into some good positions in the box, his finishing looked off as he struggled to convert those chances with ease. However, he scored one finally, which was crucial for his team.

RW- Lamine Yamal – 8.5/10

He was a menace as usual, playing with such conviction, getting into great positions, and was pivotal in breaking the deadlock for the hosts. He played a key role in all their goals of the match, drawing four defenders in and assisting Pedri, and playing a fantastic pass to Ferran Torres.

SUB- Fermin Lopez – 6/10

He entered the pitch in place of Dani Olmo as part of an attacking change to retain the lead.

SUB- Gavi – NA

With Frenkie de Jong booked, Flick put him in to play alongside Pedri in the midfield.

SUB- Ronald Araujo – NA

With Gerard Martin booked, Flick subbed him in to give defensive solidity to the backline.

SUB- Eric Garcia – NA

The Spaniard replaced the tired Pedri to add some energy to the field.

SUB – Pau Victor – NA

The young attacker got a run out with a few minutes to go, so that he could help his team close the game out.

Manager- Hansi Flick – 7/10

A fantastic result for the German, winning four consecutive El Clásicos. They dominated the start, constantly tormenting their opposition. However, they were very poor in the second half, impotent with their finishing, erratic defending, which unfortunately cost them, but they stuck in and found the winning moments.

The Sportsdunia Player of The Match Goes To FC Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.

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