It was late, and they were tired, but with four minutes left and long after midnight in Seville Jules Koundé found the strength to send a shot flying into the net and the Barcelona fans behind the goal into raptures. The fireworks were lit and the men in blue and red sprinted towards him from all sides of this stadium: here, at last, it was. The Copa del Rey final, a first clásico final in 11 years, had a winner. They had been a goal up and a goal down, they had thought they had a last-minute penalty to win it, but now the Catalan side had done it. Real Madrid had fought and rebelled, but eventually they were defeated 3-2.
You might call it a game of two halves, but there were four of them, and they had been superb. They also had an unlikely man there at the heart of a decisive moment: Pedri, Kylian Mbappé, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Ferran Torres had all scored and now it was Koundé who did. It had also had a very, very likely man standing in the middle of what might have been the decisive moment: after all the talk about referees, after Madrid had boycotted pre-match activities and the threat that they might boycott the game itself, it was indeed the officials who took the spotlight at the decisive moment.
Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea, who had cried in the pre-match press conference, prompting that no-show from Madrid, gave Barcelona a penalty with 30 seconds of normal time remaining. But Pablo González Fuertes, the video assistant referee whose talk of taking action against those who criticised officials had so incensed Madrid, called him to the screen. And so there they were, time run out, a decision to make. Eventually the penalty was withdrawn, and so it went to extra time and Koundé’s moment.
What a relief that Madrid had not boycotted this, even if at the end they may have wished they had. They played their part in a brilliant final that swung back and forth, where exhausted players gave everything – one that dignified this competition more than what had happened the day before. At the end of it, Barcelona – whose high line, life lived on the edge, had seen a Madrid goal and two penalties ruled out by the offside flag – had the trophy. Madrid were furious, but it had been some occasion.
How exhausted everyone was. How this game had swung. How long ago, those early moments felt. It had taken took 56 seconds for Madrid to even touch the ball and then, when they did, they immediately lost it again, the tone was set already. In a first half in which Madrid found themselves always arriving a fraction later and Barcelona dominated, they fell behind to a lovely Pedri goal.
Twice they might have equalised, two of those three flags denying them, but Barcelona were dominating, seemingly in control until the half-time introduction of Mbappé and a new mentality shifted everything. Arda Guler and Luka Modric too tipped the balance. Madrid were alive and could sense of vulnerability hidden until then. Every action felt like an opportunity. Pressed, Barcelona were finding it hard to get out and even harder to resist.
The equaliser came when Mbappé was dragged down by Frenkie de Jong. Madrid wanted a red card, the fans chanting about corruption at the federation, but they got something better. From the free-kick, Mbappe bend beyond Szczesny’s hand. Running to the touchline he gestured the way Cristiano Ronaldo once did against Barcelona: “Calm down, I’m here.” Barcelona knew: Mbappé was involved in another swift move with Bellingham that sent Vinícius Júnior skipping clear again, Barcelona rocking now. There was a speed and intent about Madrid, a directness, that soon led to Tchouaméni rising to head Madrid into the lead. Into the corner, they went, leaping about.
But as the celebrating players broke Antonio Rüdiger had to be treated, a huge bandage applied to his leg. The significance of that was perhaps seen when with six minutes left, he couldn’t catch Torres as the forward ran on to Lamine Yamal’s lovely pass, went past Courtois and struck a clean, low, angled finish into the empty net to make it 2-2. Rüdiger, in his defence, continued and made a huge interception to deny Lamine Yamal as he raced into the area deep into added time. He also might have been fortunate not to be punished for what then appeared to be a foul in the area on Ferran Torres.
And what always felt like it might happen happened. Just maybe not with 30 seconds left. Raphinha dashed in from the right and went down under challenge from Raúl Asencio. De Burgos Bengoetxea gave the penalty. From the VAR room, though, González Fuertes called him to have another look. Minutes passed, conversations were had, pressure was applied. And in the middle of the storm, the last thing he could have ever wanted, the referee who says his son pays for moments like this too stood there alone. A single decision, a million consequences, so many thoughts to be blocked out. Eventually, De Burgos Bengoetxea stepped away from the screen and said: no penalty.
And so to extra time, an exchange of blows, everyone on edge. Ferran just wide. Bellingham diving to head. An Mbappé penalty ruled out by another perfectly timed backline and its accompanying flag. And then there was Koundé’s moment.
