Three questions and three answers from FC Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid

Real Madrid crashed to a first Copa del Rey final defeat since 2013 as they lost to Barcelona 3-2 in extra-time to miss out on the trophy. Barcelona started stronger through Pedri, with Real Madrid mounting a comeback through French duo Kylian Mbappé and Aurélien Tchouameni to lead for seven minutes until Ferran Torres pulled it back to take the game to the additional 30 minutes. In the end it was another French international who scored the winner, with Jules Koundé scoring from outside the box for Barcelona.

Three answers

1. Who would be fit to make a return to the team?

Carlo Ancelotti’s team had two major injury doubts and it saw Ferland Mendy start and Kylian Mbappé start on the bench. The outcome perhaps showed that it should have been the other way around as Mendy lasted only 10 minutes while Mbappé had a major impact on the game and improved Real Madrid’s performance significantly. His 0.21 xG was the second highest of any Real Madrid player, creating two chances in addition to two shots on target with one of them being his perfectly-placed free-kick into the bottom corner. Mendy now looks set for another spell on the sidelines as what appeared to be a muscular issue as he went down and asked to be taken off. It left Fran García with a big job to do and one he struggled to handle.

2. How would the chaos surrounding the referees influence proceedings?

The build-up in recent days, with cancelled press conferences and training sessions, put all of the focus on Ricardo de Burgos Bengoechea in the middle and Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes on VAR. In the end, Real Madrid can have few complaints about the refereeing. Gonzalez Fuertes correctly advised De Burgos Bengoechea to review a late penalty and cancel his decision, but Antonio Rüdiger was fortunate not to have conceded one earlier on in the game and Aurélien Tchouameni couldn’t have argued had he been sent off for a hard tackle from behind on Dani Olmo in the first half. The red cards dished out in injury time are hard to debate either, given the team’s frustration boiling over with ill discipline.

3. Would Ancelotti’s poor record in the Clásico be a factor?

Ancelotti had only won 10 of 24 previous Clásicos, but this game was notable as defeat would mean that Barcelona would become the team to have beaten Carlo Ancelotti more than any other with 12 victories against him as a coach. Barcelona won the last two meetings this season, in La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup, as well as the pre-season friendly in the U.S. Ancelotti hasn’t beaten Hansi Flick since the German arrived in Catalonia last summer. With the rest of the campaign depending upon a league Clásico, there is a real battle to find any reason for optimism to suspect that Ancelotti can get it right on the fifth time of asking to overcome the former Bayern coach at Montjuic.

Three questions

1. Is the season over?

All that is left for Real Madrid now is the battle for La Liga where Barcelona have a four point advantage in addition to the mental benefit of having come out on top in Seville in this final. It will all come down to the Clásico on May 11, which will take place in Catalonia with Barcelona knowing that even a Real Madrid win would see them maintain their lead, only reduced to one point. Getting to that game, by beating Celta Vigo next Sunday while Barcelona play already-relegated Real Valladolid on Saturday night, will be the first step. Then, Real Madrid must get perfect results and hope that Barcelona slip up against Espanyol, Villarreal or Athletic Club. That task is not as unlikely as it may sound, especially factoring in Champions League semi-finals against Inter Milan, but the momentum and the mental advantage is most certainly in Barcelona’s favour.

2. Was this Aurélien Tchouameni’s best game in a Real Madrid shirt?

One of the major positives on the night was that of Aurélien Tchouameni. He scored with a powerful header from a well-worked set piece, but this performance went beyond that. Starting in midfield and later dropping into defence, he showed the value that his versatility can provide while remaining consistent. He won nine of 13 duels in total, adding four clearances, two interventions, two recoveries and a block to his stats. He looked to be the Real Madrid defender best equipped to deal with the pace of their attack and read the game well to nullify their threat cutting in from their flanks, and blocked off from a further forward position early on. Tchouameni was forceful and strong and helped to lead the second-half comeback with his characterful performance.

3. Is Florentino Pérez to blame?

The drama of the lead-up to the game was controversial, but critically directed attention away from the football. The constant complaints to the referees, summed up by the rage shown in injury time of extra time, let down the values of Real Madrid. Whatever the decision was, there could be little justification for substitutes to run onto the field with arms flailing. The fact it was led by Lucas Vázquez, who started the night with the captain’s armband, and Vinícius Júnior, the team’s star, showed a real lack of leadership. Neither the players, nor the coach and his staff on the touchline, showed a clear grip on emotions, and it’s hard to expect more from them when those above were handling the situation with anger, rather than tranquility. There will be those who think Florentino has handled this well, but without results on the field, there will be a division among the fanbase.

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