2011 Copa del Rey final

The 2011 Copa del Rey final was the 109th final since the tournament's establishment (including two seasons where two rival editions were played). The match was a traditional 'El Clásico' rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid which took place on 20 April 2011 at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, making it the sixth such Copa del Rey final (the most recent in April 1990 at the same venue), just four days after the two teams played each other in La Liga and seven days before they met in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg.

Real Madrid lifted the trophy for the 18th time in their history with a 1–0 victory after extra time. It was Real Madrid's first win in 18 years, having last won the Copa del Rey in 1993 against Real Zaragoza.

Road to the final

BarcelonaRoundReal MadridOpponentResultLegsOpponentResultLegsCeuta7–12–0 away; 5–1 homeRound of 32Murcia5–10–0 away; 5–1 homeAthletic Bilbao1–1 (a)0–0 home; 1–1 awayRound of 16Levante8–28–0 home; 0–2 awayReal Betis6–35–0 home; 1–3 awayQuarter-finalsAtlético Madrid4–13–1 home; 1–0 awayAlmería8–05–0 home; 3–0 awaySemi-finalsSevilla3–01–0 away; 2–0 home

Match The match was scoreless after 90 minutes but there had been numerous scoring chances on both sides. Cristiano Ronaldo was credited with having three good chances in the first half, the last of which was kept out with a one-handed save by Barcelona goalkeeper José Manuel Pinto. Barcelona did not have a shot on target in the first half, but in the second they dominated possession, with Andrés Iniesta and Pedro both forcing saves from Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The game was won in the first period of extra time by the game's only goal, a header from Cristiano Ronaldo from a cross from Ángel Di María.

The BBC gave credit to Real Madrid manager José Mourinho's defensive tactics for keeping Barcelona scoreless. When Barcelona's Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi and David Villa got the ball, they were challenged by two Madrid players. There were many fouls in the match, with the referee issuing eight yellow cards. Real Madrid's Ángel Di María was sent off in the 120th minute after receiving his second booking.

Match details

GK 13 José Manuel PintoRB 2 Dani Alves CB 14 Javier MascheranoCB 3 Gerard PiquéLB 21 Adriano DM 16 Sergio Busquets CM 6 Xavi (c)CM 8 Andrés IniestaRW 17 Pedro LW 7 David Villa CF 10 Lionel Messi Substitutes:GK 1 Víctor ValdésDF 5 Carles PuyolDF 18 Gabriel MilitoDF 19 Maxwell MF 15 Seydou Keita MF 20 Ibrahim Afellay MF 30 ThiagoManager: Pep Guardiola GK 1 Iker Casillas (c)RB 17 Álvaro ArbeloaCB 4 Sergio RamosCB 2 Ricardo Carvalho LB 12 MarceloDM 3 Pepe CM 14 Xabi Alonso CM 24 Sami Khedira RW 23 Mesut Özil LW 22 Ángel Di María CF 7 Cristiano RonaldoSubstitutes:GK 25 Jerzy DudekDF 19 Ezequiel Garay MF 8 KakáMF 11 Esteban Granero FW 6 Emmanuel Adebayor FW 9 Karim BenzemaFW 20 Gonzalo HiguaínManager: José Mourinho Assistant referees: Fermín Martínez Ibáñez (Navarre) Jesús Calvo Guadamuro (Andalusia) Fourth official: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (Cantabria)Match rules: 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Seven named substitutes Maximum of three substitutions

Aftermath Real Madrid players celebrated their victory that evening by riding a double-decker bus through Madrid where they were greeted by cheering crowds. While holding the trophy aloft, Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos dropped the cup in front of the bus, where it was crushed. Ramos later joked that he had not dropped the cup, but that the cup jumped down to meet the fans. The cup was replaced immediately with a spare version and placed in the Real Madrid museum.

2011 Copa del Rey final

Bron en licentie