Barcelona 3 – Real Madrid 2, goals from Mbappé and Tchouaméni weren’t enough to win the Cup.
What everyone expected happened: Barcelona won, although the match was more contested than anticipated.
Barcelona dominated the first half, with a spectacular goal from Pedri into the top corner, while Madrid barely created any danger. Rodrygo was completely invisible (and it’s been several games now where he has contributed almost nothing, showing the poor form he’s in this season, where players with such low performance levels remain starters simply because Ancelotti has no alternatives).
The second half changed when Mbappé came on at halftime, replacing Rodrygo. Mbappé completely changed the game: Madrid started creating chances, and Mbappé himself scored a brilliant free-kick to make it 1-1. Shortly after, from a corner, Tchouaméni headed in the 2-1.
Before that, Ancelotti had brought on Modrić and Arda Güler — interestingly, today Ancelotti actually made good substitutions at the right time. Arda Güler played very well. Ancelotti also brought on Brahim for Vinícius, who got injured, but Brahim ended up being one of the worst performers. Despite being a fresh substitute, he looked completely exhausted and distracted, so much so that a key mistake from him ended up being decisive.
Before that mistake, Barcelona had already equalized 2-2 after a Courtois error when trying to play out from the back. There was also a penalty in the 92nd minute that was rightly awarded, but VAR overturned it, allowing the match to go to extra time.
In extra time, it was a tight and evenly matched contest, with Arda Güler playing really well and Mbappé giving it his all. Endrick eventually came on for Rüdiger, who was either injured or exhausted. However, Endrick was another player who had a poor performance — something that has happened repeatedly this season. While Arda Güler always comes on with a positive attitude, Endrick often looks “overconfident,” attempting a shot and not contributing much else.
Endrick came on unfocused, even getting caught offside in a careless play. Unfortunately, a mistake from Endrick led to a clear chance for Barcelona. Modrić recovered the ball, but when he passed it to Brahim, Brahim made a huge mistake, allowing Koundé to intercept and smash home the decisive 2-3. Brahim and Endrick, who were supposed to energize the team, ended up doing the opposite.
The good news is that we didn’t get humiliated today; the bad news is that what everyone knew would happen, happened: we lost. To make matters worse, at the end of the match there was a shameful scene with the Madrid bench going crazy at the referee. Rüdiger completely lost his head — reminiscent of Pepe in his day — throwing a bandage at the referee, getting sent off, and smashing several ice packs.
He shouted all kinds of things and will likely face an exemplary suspension, possibly missing the rest of the league season. Meanwhile, Ancelotti did nothing to control his players — which is disappointing, considering he himself had already been booked for protesting early in the match.
This is also the club’s fault, constantly complaining about referees through Real Madrid TV and other media, which in the end just makes the players focus more on the referee than on playing — and then things like this happen.
Reportedly, there were three red cards: Rüdiger, Lucas Vázquez, and a third player (not yet confirmed, but it appears to be Vinícius, although some sources say it’s Jude Bellingham).
It’s expected that several players will receive lengthy suspensions, especially Rüdiger. As we’re fighting Barcelona for the league title, this is definitely very bad news.