Barcelona did what Barcelona does.
The Catalans overcame a 2-0 first leg deficit to go through to the Copa del Rey final with a 3-0 win against Sevilla in the second leg at the Nou Camp.
It was a Martin Brathwaite goal in extra time that sealed the victory for Barca that completed yet another comeback for the Spanish giants to take them through to the final of the Copa del Rey once again.
Barca will try to add to their record 30 Spanish Cup titles as they await the winner between Levante and Athletic Bilbao on 17th April.
Barcelona pulled off another comeback, which just proves that no matter what the club may be going through, they always have the belief and ability to overcome hurdles. After a poor first leg in Seville, Barca had to turnaround a 2-0 deficit in the second leg to go through and they did just that.
Former Middlesbrough striker Martin Brathwaite grabbed the winner with a diving header, in extra time to book Barcelona’s ticket to the Copa del Rey final. Ousmane Dembele had opened the scoring for the side early on in the 12th minute, which gave a massive boost to the home side.
However, Sevilla dug in deep and nearly made it across the finish line on aggregate, only to be stopped by veteran Gerard Pique who made it 2-0 in the dying moments of the game as he scored in the 4th minute of injury time in after 90 minutes!
Sevilla’s hearts were broken as Fernando was sent off just 2 minutes before the goal and that meant that Julen Lopetegui’s side had to play extra time with 1 man less.
Barcelona celebrate Martin Brathwaite’s winner. (Photo by Pressinphoto / Icon Sport)
There was no stopping Barca in added time as Brathwaite scored just 5 minutes in and 8 minutes later, Luuk de Jong was also shown a red card, while being on the bench, for having a go at the fourth referee.
Sevilla did not help themselves, however as they squandered a penalty at 1-0 to have virtually killed the tie due to getting that all-important away goal.
The game was marred by the off-field controversy surrounding Barcelona as former President Josep Maria Bartomeu was arrested on the grounds of corruption.
The club will elect a new leader on Sunday among 3 candidates – Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Freixa.
Dembele gave the Catalans the lead with an outstanding strike into the top corner from outside the box. They almost doubled their lead but Marcos Acuna came to Sevilla’s rescue as he cleared the ball off the line.
Barcelona continued to dominate possession and the game in the second half as Jordi Alba came ever so close to making it 2-0 as his flying header hit the crossbar.
Sevilla had an opportunity to level things at 1-0 when Oscar Mingueza brought down Ocampos in Barcelona’s box to concede a penalty. Unfortunately, the Argentinian scuffed his shot that Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen comfortably latched onto.
Gerard Pique found that all-important goal to send the tie into extra time in the dying moments of the game as he managed to pounce on an Antoine Griezmann cross to head home.
Barcelona’s 3-0 victory saw them go through 3-2 on aggregate after Brathwaite’s scrappy diving header secured the win early on in extra time as the Catalans make it through to yet another Copa del Rey final as they seek title #31.
