Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 4-0 at Camp Nou on Wednesday to advance 4-1 overall and to the Copa del Rey final. Karim Benzema scored three goals in the victory.
After Carlo Ancelotti’s team produced an incredible comeback from their one-goal semi-final first leg disadvantage, Vinicius Junior scored shortly before halftime, and Benzema added a second-half hat trick.
Benzema humiliated Barcelona in front of over 95,000 furious supporters on a sad night for coach Xavi Hernandez after scoring three goals against Real Valladolid at the weekend in La Liga.
Los Blancos won this match to advance to the Copa final for the first time since 2014, where they will play Osasuna. Los Blancos currently trail their arch-rivals by 12 points in La Liga and were defeated by Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in January.
Ancelotti stated, “That was a complete game; when you play a complete game, you win 4-0 like that.
“This is the most significant period of the season, and we’re good when the temperature is right (like this).”
Madrid eliminated the record-breaking 31-time cup winners with a powerful display on a tense night in Barcelona, when they also put an end to a demoralizing run of three straight Clasico losses.
Sergi Roberto of Barcelona argued that conceding Vinicius’ goal just before halftime was a major setback.
“We didn’t deserve to allow them to score at the conclusion of the first half, which is what happened to us. We played better in the first half, in my opinion “Midfielder spoke to RTVE.
“Our morale suffered as a result of the additional opportunities we produced but failed to convert. They scored again in the second half, and we were unable to compete.”The Catalan argued that a loss wouldn’t hurt Barcelona’s chances of winning the championship in the season’s final stages.
“Since we have a huge points distance, it will not impact us, we have to continue and go for the league,” he added.
Lethal Madrid Xavi was without injured quintet Ousmane Dembele, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen, and finally it told.
Both sides were eager to go to the championship game and were fighting tooth and nail to avoid being eliminated by the opposing squad as the game got underway.
As tempers flared, Barca coach Xavi was given a booking for objecting to a foul; Gavi and Vinicius were also given yellow cards for fighting.Lionel Messi’s name was being sung by thousands of Barcelona supporters in the 10th minute amid rᴜмогᵴ that he would leave Paris Saint-Germain, and they would have adored some of the Argentinean’s magic.
In stoppage time of the first half, Los Blancos seized the lead after showcasing their skill on the counterattack.
About 20 seconds after Thibaut Courtois’ excellent save on Robert Lewandowski, Vinicius scored at the other end.
Jules Kounde made his best effort to clear the goal line, but Rodrygo cut the ball back to the striker who managed to squeeze a shot home. Although Benzema was there to make sure, Vinicius’s effort had already gone too far.
After Luka Modric effortlessly slid past Sergi Roberto, the French forward was able to seize the opportunity and score lethally from the edge of the box in a sea of open space.
After that, Barcelona crumbled as Benzema scored his second goal from the penalty spot just before the hour mark, sending Franck Kessie the wrong way for clumsily fouling Vinicius.
Marco Asensio was denied by Ter Stegen, and then Benzema finished off his hat trick with a crisp shot following a superb dribble and feed from Vinicius.Congrats to Real Madrid; they played outstandingly well in the second half, said Xavi.
“They won’t pardon you if you let Madrid off the hook. They have a fantastic team, therefore it’s not a coincidence that they won the Champions League.”Madrid has won the Copa del Rey 19 times, whereas their opponents, Osasuna, have never done so. After defeating Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday, Osasuna advanced to their second final.
“He talked a lot and I was a bit annoyed”
The Barcelona star was extremely annoyed by Vinicius Junior’s provocation. This is clearly demonstrated through an interview with Forbes.
Despite holding the advantage over Real Madrid when leading the great rival 1-0 in the first leg, however, Barcelona completely lost the game right at their home ground. They conceded 4 goals thereby losing the opportunity to reach the Copa del Rey final.
Not only that, the stars on the Barca side also showed inhibitions against the attacks from striker Vinicius Junior – who scored the opening goal for Real Madrid.
Vinicius often collides with Gavi.
Throughout the match was the image of the 22-year-old player arguing and fighting with the duo Gavi and Ferran Torres.
Speaking after the game, defender Ronald Araujo was annoyed with Vinicius, he said:
“Vinicius is always provoking my teammates, messing with them.
I always say he is a great player, but Vinicius will improve a lot if he concentrates on playing. I have a lot of respect, but he talked a lot and I was a bit annoyed.”
Besides, he also commented on Barca’s performance:
“We didn’t play well despite the fact that we had a great first half, but we conceded and after the second half we fell a lot.”
