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Barcelona were at their best in the Copa Del Rey Final as they eased past the helpless Sevilla side. The Catalans secured their first title of the season with the 5-0 victory.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring with an easy finish in an empty net just 14 minutes after kick-off. But it was Jasper Cillessen's incredible pre-assist to Coutinho which made the goal look easy.
Jordi Alba and Leo Messi created magic to double Barcelona's lead. Suarez made it 3-0 to finish the game in the first half itself.
Andres Iniesta, possibly playing in his last final for the Catalans, scored the fourth goal of the night. Philippe Coutinho rounded off the scoring with his first penalty goal for Barcelona.
Let us take a look at five incredible stats from the game:
#5 Jasper Cillessen - The Copa Del Rey Wall
Marc-André ter Stegen has saved Barcelona on various occasions in La Liga and Champions League. But one must not forget that Barcelona's Cup goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen is an incredible shot-stopper as well.
Although the Dutchman was not troubled by Sevilla's toothless attack in the final, he managed to keep a clean sheet by denying Sandro in the 64th minute.
But Cillessen proved his worth throughout the tournament as he conceded just two goals in nine games. The statistic looks more impressive if we take a look at Barcelona's opponents in the tournament.
After Murcia in the Round of 32, Barcelona faced Celta, Espanyol, and Valencia before the final against Sevilla. The Dutch goalkeeper conceded just one late goal against Espanyol and one against Celta - the same Celta team who has scored four goals in two league games against Ter Stegen this season!
#4 Philippe Coutinho's first trophy since 2011
Philippe Coutinho's life in the Catalan capital has been pretty smooth so far. The Brazilian is yet to lose a game in Barca jersey, with 12 wins and 5 draws.
But the title victory must have been extra sweet for Coutinho as it was his first silverware since 2011. Coutinho moved to Barcelona in January but he failed to win any silverware during his time in England. His last winner's medal came for Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia in 2011.
The little Brazilian worked hard against Sevilla and assisted Suarez for Barcelona's first goal of the night, before scoring the 5th and last goal from the penalty spot.
#3 Just another day in the office for Messi
We might get tired of keeping a track of Messi's records. But for him, it was just another day in the office.
The Argentine was in sublime form against his favorite opponents and finished the game with a goal and two assists. But he also broke a number of records during the game.
With his goal in the 31st minute, Messi became the first player to score in five different cup finals, after Telmo Zarra. Messi's first goal in the final came in 2009 against Atletic Bilbao and the Argentine has scored in the 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2018 finals, since then.
The Argentine also became the first player to provide five assists in the Copa final. He has provided two assists in 2016, one in 2017, and bagged two more at the Wanda Metropolitano.
#2 Barcelona's Copa Del Rey dominance
The Catalan club proved their supremacy in the Copa Del Rey competition with yet another title win. It was Barcelona's 30th cup win, 7 ahead of the second-placed Atletico Bilbao.
It was Barcelona's fourth successive cup and they now share the record for successive title wins with Real Madrid (1905-1908) and Athletic Bilbao (1930-1933).
Barcelona also beat their arch-rivals Real Madrid in the race for the most appearances in the Copa Del Rey final. The Catalans have appeared in 40 finals, winning 30 and missing out on the trophy on 10 occasions.
#1 Don Andres Iniesta
It was an emotional night for Andres Iniesta. With rumors pointing towards his move to China, the game against Sevilla was his last final in the Barca jersey.
And the magician made it a memorable one for all the Barcelona fans. Iniesta bossed the midfield just the way he has done it for the last 10 years. The Spaniard completed a whopping 74 of 78 passes, with a jaw-dropping 94.8% passing accuracy.
Iniesta also scored Barcelona's fourth goal of the night to sign off in style. The midfield maestro was rightly awarded the Man of the Match award.
Iniesta, along with Messi, has won the most silverware at Barcelona. The La Masia products have won 31 titles in the Red and Blue strips and will have a chance to make it 32 by sealing the league title next week.
Thank You, Don!
