Barcelona and Real Madrid to meet in Copa del Rey final, setting stage for first El Clasico final since 2014

A bonus edition from El Clasico has been officially added to the calendar, with Real Madrid and Barcelona who have to deal with the Copa del Rey final later this month.

This season, the matchup in the final marks the fourth edition of El Clasico, a series with the 5-2 victory of Barcelona over Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in January. Again, this month’s game has a chance to win silverware, although this is the first time that the couple will meet in the Copa del Rey final since 2014, when Real Madrid Barcelona defeated 2-1 to win the title.

The final also offers both teams their first chance to win a big trophy this season, although it may not be the last chance of both parties to collect winners medals. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid are still in the title race of La Liga, with the former only three points ahead of the latter and things. Both teams are also still active in the UEFA Champions League and have ambitions to win the whole thing.

This is what you need to know about the coming Clasico.

How to view El Clasico

• Date: Saturday, April 26 | Time: TBD
• Location: Cartuja Stadium – Seville, Spain
• Live stream: ESPN+

How Real Madrid became here

The side of Carlo Ancelotti took the dramatic route to the final on Tuesday and defeated Real Sociedad 5-4 on total but extra time needed to do this. The routine 1-0 win in the first stage turned out to be crucial for Real Madrid, especially because a flurry of late goals made sure there would be a back and forth, because both parties were walking to the finish. Real Sociedad went up 3-2 in the 80th minute when Mikel Oyarzabal scored, although Jude Bellingham’s goal brought the aggregated score two minutes later. Oyarzabal scored again in the stopping time to send the game extra time, where Antonio Rudiger scored five minutes before the referee Real Madrid scored and the referee would have indicated on punishment.

How Barcelona came here

Barcelona saved the drama for the first stage, which ended in a 4-4 draw with Atletico Madrid. The side of Hansi Flick played a strong second stage in Madrid on Wednesday and noted a 1-0 victory that was enough to book a place in the final, with Ferran Torres scored the only goal of the game in the 27th minute. It was a dominant outing for Barcelona, ​​who made 15 shots to the six of Atletico and 1.78 expected goals when the opponent only succeeded. More in particular, Barcelona was not faced with a single shot on goal in the second stage.