With a hat-trick from Karim Benzema and a goal from Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 4-0 at Camp Nou to advance to the Copa del Rey championship for the first time since 2014.
Barca led Madrid 1-0 going into the second leg on Wednesday courtesy to an own goal by Militao at the Bernabeu, but Vinicius’ strike in the first half’s extra time pulled Madrid back into the game.
After the interval, Ancelotti’s team took control, with Benzema scoring a beautiful goal to give them the lead before coolly converting from the penalty spot after Vinicius was brought down.
Late in the game, the current Ballon d’Or victor sealed his hat-trick to eliminate the 31-time champions and set up Madrid’s meeting with Osasuna in the championship game on May 6.
Sergi Roberto and Raphinha’s early attempts for Barca were blocked, but Ronald Araujo’s quick defense.
In a typically heated match, tempers were beginning to flare. Xavi was booked for dissent, and then Gavi and Vinicius were warned for an altercation in the middle of the field. But the guests didn’t waver, and they managed to tie the score just before the break.
After Courtois made an outstanding save to stop Robert Lewandowski, although Vinicius’ shot was originally blocked by Jules Kounde, it eventually crossed the goal line to tie the match on the overall score.
Soon after the interval, Luka Modric set up Karim Benzema for an expert strike into the bottom-left corner, giving Ancelotti’s team the lead.
Brilliant Benzema’s Hatrick
Benzema once more delivered when his team really needed him to, cementing his legendary status at Real Madrid with yet another outstanding effort.
The striker ended the match with a magnificent treble in the second half, netting three times from 1.88 xG to put Barca to the sword after helping Vinicius score to tie the overall score.
