Real Madrid is on to their 40th Copa del Rey Final in team history, but they didn’t cruise through the semifinals to get there. In the semifinal matchup against Real Sociedad, Madrid played an epic second game and came out on top in extra time. They had a 1-0 aggregate lead going into the game, and the lead bounced back and forth multiple times in the second half. Sociedad scored in the 93rd minute to send it to extra time in what was the fourth goal in a 20-minute stretch. Antonio Rudiger scored the winner in the 115th minute, sealing the win and setting up a Final against either Atletico Madrid or Barcelona.
While Real Madrid struggled against the middling Sociedad squad, it created one of the most thrilling games of the tournament.
Despite having one of the highest payrolls in the world with some of the best players in international soccer, Real Madrid never had a major advantage against Real Sociedad. They won in the first leg 1-0 with the help of a 19th-minute Endrick goal, but even then, they didn’t get the most of their 14 shot attempts. In the second leg on Tuesday, Sociedad’s Ander Barrenetxea opened up scoring in the 16th minute, followed by another Endrick goal for Madrid in the 30th minute. Despite still not being in their best form, Real Madrid looked like they would move on to the Final after retaking the lead.
That’s when chaos started, turning a routine Cup semifinal game into an absolute stunner. Sociedad’s Pablo Marin had a shot bounce off Real Madrid’s David Alaba in the 72nd minute for a goal. That was quickly followed by a similar Mikel Oyarzabal strike off Alaba again to score in the 80th minute. Sociedad didn’t have the lead for long, as just two minutes later, Vinicius Jr. crossed the ball to Jude Bellingham to score the equalizer. Again, just minutes later, Aurelien Tchouameni scored a header off a Rodrygo corner to take the aggregate lead in the 86th minute.
In stoppage time, Oyarzabal scored once again in the 93rd minute after a failed Alaba clearance off a corner kick. With the game tied once again, it went into extra time to decide the winner. While the first half of extra time saw little action, both teams looked like they were still trying to wrap their heads around the previous 20 minutes of the game. In the second half of extra time, Antonio Rudiger used his head off a corner kick to give Real Madrid the final lead of the game in the 115th minute. With the win, they go onto their 40th all-time Copa del Rey Final, their first since 2023 and second in the last decade.
The semifinal between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad was one of the most exciting and thrilling Spanish soccer games this year. It initially looked like Madrid would easily walk away, then Sociedad came back to tie and take the lead, eventually falling painfully.
After a series that was 2-1 after a total of 160 minutes, the match-up suddenly turned into a basketball game, with each team running up and down the field, switching off taking shots on the break. While it was heartbreaking for Real Sociedad, they played Spain’s most famous club very closely and should have an extra boost of confidence heading into the final stretch of the season. Sociedad last made the Copa del Rey Final in 2020, but will hope their performance on Tuesday will help move them up from 10th in the La Liga standings.
For Real Madrid, they’ll either face Atletico Madrid or Barcelona in the cup final on April 26th. The Atleti-Barcelona aggregate score is tied at 4-4, and their second leg matchup on Wednesday could deliver another thrilling match as was seen in Madrid.
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