Real Betis held their nerve to win a penalty shootout 5-4 and edge out Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday after a thrilling contest had ended 1-1 following extra time at a packed La Cartuja stadium.
Real Betis win the Copa del Rey for the first time in 17 years
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— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 23, 2022
In a classic free-flowing encounter full of goalscoring chances and remarkable saves, it was hard to separate the two sides who maintained a frantic pace throughout the 120 minutes.
Yunus Musah missed Valencia’s fourth spot-kick to give Betis a 5-4 win on penalties.
Earlier, Hugo Duro’s 30th-minute goal had cancelled out Borja Iglesias’ opener for Betis.
Real Betis’ breathtaking win in their Seville hometown secured them their first major trophy since they won the same title in 2005.
17 years after the Copa del Rey trophy was guest of honour at his wedding, 40-year-old Joaquin wins it again with Real Betis!
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— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 23, 2022
It was a well-fought clash of styles between Betis’s possession-based, attacking mentality and Valencia’s solid defensive block and vertical speedy transitions on the counter-attack.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side dominated possession with Copa del Rey’s top goalscorer and final MVP, Borja Iglesias, as the main threat, but Valencia was a constant menace to their opponents on the counter-attack, with Hugo Duro creating all kinds of trouble to Betis’ defence.
“To win this title after so many years in our town and in front of our fans is a wonderful thing,” captain Joaquin told reporters before lifting the trophy and becoming the first player to win two titles with Betis’ colours as he was in the field 17 years ago.
“I think it is the work of many years, of getting things little by little, building from a lot of effort. Congratulations to Valencia because if they had won they would be deserved winners, it was an amazing game.”
A 5-year-old Juan Miranda was at the Calderón in 2005 to see his team, Real Betis, win the Copa del Rey for the second time in their history.
Tonight, 17 years later, he scored the winning penalty to earn Real Betis their third.
Fútbol is beautiful. pic.twitter.com/xZht5weSav
— Alex Brotherton (@alex_brotherton) April 23, 2022
Betis started strong and Iglesias’ opener came 11 minutes into the game with a close-range header into the roof of the net from a perfectly placed cross from the right touchline by former Arsenal flaker Eric Bellerin.
When the locals looked in control, Hugo Duro scored the equalizer with a lightning-fast counter-attack started by Ilaix Moriba who delivered a brilliant through pass to Duro in space behind Betis’ defensive line. The striker entered the area unchallenged and lobbed the ball over Claudio Bravo to score with an ice-cold touch with his left foot.
Betis almost scored a few minutes later as a powerful long-range strike from Sergio Canales exploded off Giorgi Mamardashvili’s left post.
Valencia came back on fire after the break and had three clear chances to score in the first eight minutes, with Bravo making two incredible stops from Duro and Moriba missing another one well wide from inside the box.
Leading Real Betis to their first trophy in 16 years. My manager
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— Trey (@MCFC_Trey) April 23, 2022
But Betis slowly took back control and made plenty of chances of their own, with Mamardashvili shining with at least four brilliant stops in the final minutes of regulation, holding the deadlock to extra-time.
With players exhausted after 90 minutes of non-stop action, both teams took a step back in extra time and the game went to a penalty shootout, where the 19-years-old American midfielder was the only one to miss.
Courtesy: Reuters