Barcelona retained the Spanish double by beating Sevilla 2-0 at the Vicente Calderon in an ill-tempered affair that saw the sides reduce to 10 and 9 men respectively.
The Spanish champions had to dig deep as they were kept at arm's length by the direct and physical approach employed by Los Nervionenses, and also lost Javier Mascherano to an early red card.
The game ended goal-less in normal time, but it didn’t take much longer in extra-time for full-back Jordi Alba to finally break the deadlock. The Catalans were racing to a 1-0 victory before Neymar fiercely slotted home the second to put the tie to bed.
Sevilla threw everything they could, but couldn’t match the quality of this Barcelona side. Here are the major talking points spruced up from the heated 2016 Copa del Rey final.
1) Swashbuckling Barca bag another Spanish double
With that, Barcelona have now completed the Spanish double of La Liga and the Copa del Rey for the second year running, highlighting the hegemony they’ve held in the country. Although the dream of a back-to-back treble was long quashed after the defeat to Atletico Madrid but that still doesn’t take away the gloss from another fantastic season that the Catalans have had.
There were jitters in the early stages as Barcelona were forced on the back foot and also went a man down just after the half-hour mark. Things went worse when Luis Suarez limped off the field with an apparent hamstring problem. But eventually, the supreme quality of this team still made the difference.
While their rivals from Madrid will compete in the finals of the Champions League later this week, there’s no denying the force that Barcelona are to reckon with. Consecutive domestic doubles only corroborate the fact.
2) Sevilla lost the match but won respect
Just 4 days on from the gruelling 3-1 victory over Liverpool in the Europa League final in Basel, Sevilla entered the match with tired legs. However, their performance suggested otherwise.
Right from the off, Sevilla pressurised their mighty rivals with lightening fast movements and kept them at bay for large spells of the normal time. The match could’ve ended well within the 90 minutes of normal time but Sevilla dragged it all the way till the gruelling, extra 30 minutes.
Barcelona were always going to run away with the title but Sevilla made sure they had to walk the extra mile in its pursuit.
3) Pique shows why he’s one of the best centre-backs in the world
With Javier Mascherano sent for an early bath, the Blaugrana had a man less in the defence, but Gerard Pique cemented the gap with his sterling performance, more than enough.
The Spaniard was the cynosure for everything that was obstructing Sevilla from finding the net as Pique threw his body on the line by making one block after another. He even went close to finding the net in the second-half from Messi’s free-kick, but his header was diverted off the bar by Rico.
It was one of the greatest nights for ex-Manchester United man Pique, who put on a defending masterclass that further burnished his status amongst the world’s defending elite.
4) Ever Banega signs off in the worst way possible
Sevilla talisman Ever Banega has been heavily linked with a move to Inter Milan this summer, in which case, this would be his final appearance for the Andalusians. But the Argentine won’t have fond memories of the farewell.
Stemming most of his side’s creativity during the first 60 minutes of the game, Banega undid all the hard work with a rash challenge on Neymar in a blue funk to earn himself a straight red. Although the situation was such that someone had to thwart the darting run of the Brazilian into the box, but Banega lunged himself into the tackle in an alarming way that left the referee with no other choice.
With the numerical advantage now gone, Barcelona wrestled back the control of the game and eventually emerged triumphant.
5) Sheer goalkeeping brilliance at both ends
Both the custodians on the night, Marc-Andre ter Stegan and Sergio Rico, made numerous saves and blocks to keep the tie finely poised. Both sides had multiple chances over 120 minutes, but the tie would’ve ended within the 90 minutes of normal time had it not been for their dexterity in goal.
The German was the busier of the two during the early stages as Sevilla attacked with full throttle but Rico too had his hands full later on as Barcelona tried their luck at goal.
With an avalanche of shots at both ends, none was perturbed. Ter Stegan may have eventually won the duel with a clean-sheet, but there was nothing Rico could do about those 2 late goals.
All in all, the goalkeepers too had their fair share of moments in the exciting encounter.
