To the beat of a Karim Benzema hat-trick, Real Madrid overturned Barcelona’s lead in the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday with a resounding 4-0 win at Camp Nou stadium to reach the tournament’s final for the first time in almost one of each.
Madrid won 4-1 on aggregate to meet Osasuna in the final.
Benzema and Vinicius Junior shone in all the goals with which the meringues shook off their three-game losing streak against their classic rival: in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, a League clash and the first leg of these Cup semifinals.
Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga also rounded off masterful performances to give Madrid the victory.
Vinicius opened the account in the discounts of the first half at the end of a counterattack that involved Rodrygo and Benzema. The counter arose after Barcelona missed a chance at the other end, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois parrying Robert Lewandowski’s shot.
Benzema scored the second thanks to a shot from the edge of the area, a pass from Modric, at 50 minutes, turning the score around in the series.
The current Ballon d’Or converted a penalty at 58, preceded by a stomp inside the area that Vinicius received from Franck Kessié.
Benzema’s fourth goal came at 80, in another counterattack. Vinicius gave it up when he reached the area to push the ball across before goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen left.
“We had to go out and look for the result. We had to go out and win,” said Federico Valverde, Madrid’s Uruguayan midfielder. “We know what Karim gives. No matter how many goals he scores, he is a benchmark for all of us. He always wants more.”
Until before the first goal, Vinicius had had few flashes and received a yellow card after getting involved in a dispute with Gavi.
This was the first time since 1963 that Real Madrid had scored more than three goals at the Camp Nou. That year they prevailed 4-1 in a match in which the legendary Hungarian Ferenc Puskas was a figure with three goals.
“The first (goal) touches you emotionally and the second touches our morale. We wanted to go for the Cup and the League, but it will have to be the League,” lamented Barça midfielder Sergi Roberto.
Barcelona leads the domestic championship with a difference of 12 points over Madrid.
In the stands of the Camp Nou, the memory of Lionel Messi was revived when a large number of attendees began to chant his name just after 10 minutes. In the last week, versions of the return of the Argentine star have circulated after two years of having left for Paris Saint-Germain.
Osasuna beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in Bilbao on Tuesday to reach the final for the first time since losing to Real Betis in the 2005 title game.
Madrid had not advanced to the final since 2014, when they defeated Barcelona to win the last of their 19 Cup titles.
The Catalans, the most successful club in the Cup with 31 titles, were trying to get into the final for the first time since their consecration in 2021. It was their last coronation with Messi on the squad.
With the victory, Madrid avoided losing four straight games against Barcelona in the same season for the first time. Madrid won 3-1 in the first clásico of the season in the League, but then suffered three consecutive defeats.
The veteran Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets became the player with the most classics in history when he played 48 in his career with the Catalan team.
