El Clasico score: Barca win heated Copa del Rey final over Real Madrid on Jules Kounde's extra-time golazo

Real came back to take a 2-1 lead late on, but Barca rallied to lift the crown

It was one of the most awaited finals in the recent history of Spanish soccer, and it didn't disappoint. FC Barcelona managed to win 3-2 the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid, as the Blaugrana won their second trophy of the season after winning the Spanish Super Cup against the side coach by Carlo Ancelotti. FC Barcelona are now still in the race to win the treble, as they are currently leading the Spanish La Liga standings with a four-point margin on the same Real Madrid, with another Clasico that will take place in less than two weeks in Barcelona. On Wednesday, the Spanish giants will face Inter in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals, with the return leg scheduled on May 6 in Milan. 

Hansi Flick's side had a much better start to the final as FC Barcelona managed to score the opening goal of the match in Sevilla with a wonderful shot of Pedri who was assisted by Spanish talent Lamine Yamal. Despite Real Madrid's initial reaction, Carlo Ancelotti's team had to wait for French star Kylian Mbappe to change the direction of the Copa del Rey final, as the former PSG star's free kick immediately showed why the Blancos did everything they could to sign him in the summer 2024. 

Mbappe scored the 1-1 with the free kick, which also marked his first-ever goal from direct free kick in his career and also marked another key moment of the final, as a few minutes later, Aurelien Tchouameni's header made it 2-1 for Real Madrid in the second half. Real Madrid seemed close to winning the cup, but Ferran Torres scored the equalizer with under 10 minutes to go thanks to another outstanding assist of Yamal. 

As the final went to the extra time, and seemed headed to penalties, FC Barcelona defender Jules Kounde scored the deciding goal of the night with an amazing shot from outside the box, as he was able to recover the ball from a mistake of both Luka Modric and Brahim Diaz. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 3:54 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

LIVE: FC Barcelona 3, Real Madrid 2

[Apr 26, 2025 at 6:48 pm ET · Roger Gonzalez]

That's it! Barca win!

It's over! 3-2 to Barca! The Kounde goal is the difference as the Frenchman scores in extra time to give his side the trophy!!!

[Apr 26, 2025 at 6:39 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

GOAL: 3-2 BARCELONA! 

What a goal again! Jules Kounde scored an incredible goal from outside the box, taking advantage of a mistake of Luka Modric, who tried to make an horizontal pass to Brahim Diaz. Kounde, one of the best players on the pitch in this final, scored what might become the winning goal of the match with less than five minutes left. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 6:27 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

One half of extra time is gone

While the first half of the extra time is over and FC Barcelona had the biggest chance with Ferran Torres to score the third goal of the night in Sevilla, there are only 15 minutes left before the penalties. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 6:04 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

We will have extra time

After the 90 minutes it's 2-2 between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid: it's now time for the extra time, 30 more minutes! 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 6:03 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

And.. it's NOT penalty

After the intervention of the VAR, the referee decided to go back and changed his decision: no penalty for FC Barcelona. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:59 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

PENALTY FOR BARCELONA!

In the last minute of stoppage time, the referee awarded FC Barcelona with a penalty for a foul of Raul Asencio on Raphinha! After what happened over the last days, with Real Madrid asking the Spanish FA to replace the referee, this might become a big topic in the next days. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:54 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

Vinicius Jr. out! 

We will have six more minutes of stoppage time before the extra time. In the meantime, Ancelotti replaced Vinicius Jr with Brahim Diaz. Looks like both teams are now waiting for the extra time, as they fear to concede a goal that might put an end on their ambitions to win the Copa del Rey. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:47 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

GOAL - Ferran Torres scores!

What a game! It's 2-2 now in Sevilla as FC Barcelona scored a stunning equalizer with Ferran Torres thanks to an incredible assist of Lamine Yamal. Thibaut Courtois was not able to intercept the pass of the Spanish talent and Ferran Torres didn't miss the chance to score the second goal for Flick's team. Everything can happen now! 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:40 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

GOAL - Real Madrid again! 

The second goal was in the air: Aurelien Tchouameni's header after a nice assist of Arda Guler from the corner kick and Madrid are now up 2-1 against the historical rivals. Can Madrid keep the one-goal advantage in the next 12 minutes? 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:39 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

A different game now

If FC Barcelona dominated the first half, well now it's the opposite as Real Madrid are pushing and trying to score again after the wonderful free kick scored by Kylian Mbappe few minutes ago. Will Ancelotti's side be able to make another one before the 90 minutes? 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:33 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

GOAL - Mbappe scores! 

What a goal! Kylian Mbappe scores the 1-1 with a wonderful free kick and the final is now more open than ever. The next 20 minutes will be incredible. Stay tuned for all the action! 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:29 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

Flick's first change

FC Barcelona also make their first substitution of the match and replace Firmin Lopez with Dani Olmo. The Blaugrana also need to stop Real Madrid's positive momentum as the Blancos had at least two clear chances with both Mbappe and Vinicius Jr in the last ten minutes. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:21 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

A very open final 

Everything can happen in the next 30 minutes in Sevilla as Real Madrid now need to push and try to score at least one goal before the end of the 90 minutes, but FC Barcelona can also have chances as Madrid might expose themselves if they need to attack. So far, both Mbappe and Vinicius Jr seem to have more space now in this second half. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:19 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

Two more changes for Madrid

Ancelotti makes two more changes (the fourth of the game) as Arda Guler and Luka Modric replace Dani Ceballos and Lucas Vazquez. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:14 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

Chance for Vinicius! 

Real Madrid had a strong start of the second half as Brazilian striker Vinicius Jr. had two chances to score the equalizer but Barcelona's Polish goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved it twice on the same Vinicius. We might have an exciting second half here in Sevilla! 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 5:09 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

Kylian Mbappe comes in

Carlo Ancelotti decided to make another substitution at halftime and Kylian Mbappe replaced Rodrygo after 45 minutes. Despite the injury that forced Mbappe to start on the bench, he's now on the pitch. Let's see if he can make an impact in this second half. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 4:47 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

HT: FC Barcelona 1, Real Madrid 0

As FC Barcelona hit the post directly from a corner kick of Dani Olmo in the last minutes of the first half, the opening 45 minutes of the Copa del Rey final ended with Barcelona leading 1-0 against Ancelotti's side. The Blaugrana are dominating the final and deserved to be ahead after the first half, but despite that one goal difference is definitively not enough for Barcelona to relax in the second part of the final. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 4:38 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

Real Madrid react

The team coached by Carlo Ancelotti finally reacted and had their first chance after 35 minutes with Jude Bellingham scoring after an assist of Dani Ceballos, but it was called immediately as offside. Despite the disappointment, this is showing Real Madrid can create some problems to FC Barcelona's defense. Before the end of the first 45 minutes, Real Madrid were awarded of e penalty for a foul on Vinicius Jr, but the Brazilian was initially in offside and the penalty was immediately called off. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 4:29 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

30' GOAL - Barcelona scores!

It's 1-0 for FC Barcelona as the team coached by Flick scored the opening goal with a wonderful shot of Pedri after the assist of Lamine Yamal. The young star's play helped Barcelona dominate the opening 30 minutes, culminating in the well-deserved opener of the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 4:21 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

Two chances for Barcelona!

Just as Real Madrid began to press forward, Barcelona's counterattack created a significant scoring opportunity for Hansi Flick's side to take the lead. During the play, Valverde made contact with the ball using his left hand while falling, but the referee considered it unintentional and waved off penalty claims. Two minutes later, Lamine Yamal nearly broke the deadlock, his shot narrowly missing the right post. Few seconds later, Jules Kounde's header went off as well thanks to a big save of Real Madrid's Courtois. That was close!

[Apr 26, 2025 at 4:11 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

First change for Madrid!

An early muscular injury forces Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti to replace left back Ferland Mendy with Fran Garcia after ten minutes into the final. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 4:09 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

Barcelona's strong start

Hansi Flick's team started the final better with more ball possession, generating two early chances that challenged Real Madrid's defense. Employing a high defensive line, Flick's side is pressing aggressively, while Real Madrid remain cautious, particularly in neutralizing the potential threats of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.

[Apr 26, 2025 at 3:54 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

KICK OFF!

The 2024-25 Copa del Rey final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid has now started. Stay tuned for all the action! 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 3:40 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

20 minutes to go

[Apr 26, 2025 at 3:37 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

Lamine's new look 

We're almost ready for the El Clasico Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Spanish talent Lamine Yamal showed his new look ahead of the game: 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 2:22 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

No Mbappe in the starting lineup!

We've already got the most surprising news of the day as Carlo Ancelotti decided to not include Kylian Mbappe in the starting lineup of the Copa del Rey final against FC Barcelona. As reported by Radio Marca on Saturday morning, the French star hasn't recovered yet from his injury and he was not at his best conditions and that's what led the Italian manager to make this decision ahead of the final. 

[Apr 26, 2025 at 2:18 pm ET · Francesco Porzio]

Team news

FC Barcelona XI: Wojciech Szczesny, Jules Kounde, Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, Frankie De Jong, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Ferran Torres.

Real Madrid XI: Thibaut Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Raul Asencio, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy; Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Dani Ceballos; Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.

[Apr 26, 2025 at 2:00 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

The pressure is on Barcelona 

Not only have Hansi Flick's side won both of the previous Clasicos this season, but they have also won by a significant margin in each of those previous meetings. This series has so far been a showcase of Barcelona's resurgence under the new manager, who has benefited from Lamine Yamal's rise but has surprised many by getting the best out of Robert Lewandowski and especially Raphinha. Lewandowski, Barcelona's leading goalscorer with 40 goals across all competitions this season, will miss the Copa del Rey final with an injury, but the team's other stars are expected to be available and should keep the team competitive on Saturday.

On the flip side, this season's editions of El Clasico have revealed the surprise shortcomings of a star-studded Real Madrid. With last season's La Liga and UEFA Champions League trophies in the display case, the summertime addition of Kylian Mbappe was expected to extend a period of dominance for them. Instead, the imperfections of last season's success came to cost Real Madrid this time around and put them on the back foot heading into the Copa del Rey final. With a major piece of silverware on the line, though, it could inspire a battle that's more competitive than the two previous editions.