Today I welcome you back to my little corner of soccer being this day or rather yesterday a very special day for what happened, a much awaited final would be lived especially for a club that had some important appointments and this was one of them. Real Madrid, after practically saying goodbye to the Santander League with a bitter defeat, would have to face the final of the Copa del Rey, a competition which made the Merengue team reserve their best players to try to secure a title that they have not won for 9 years. For many a competition of not so high level compared to the local League, the Super Cup of Spain and of course the Champions League, however this is still a competition that requires effort and attention if you want to be where Madrid was yesterday, in soccer you must distribute and manage the energies to fight for each of the competitions. The truth is that Madrid was in a new final against Osasuna, perhaps not being the expected powerful rival of Spain that would make the billboard striking, however I must remember that as a test prior to the final, the white house had to overcome FC Barcelona, nothing more and nothing less than the current leader of the Spanish league and soon the champion of the same, this could be considered one of the reasons that give basis to the above mentioned that the said "Cup without importance" has among its ranks opposing clubs that are protagonists in Europe.

It was just a matter of sitting in front of the TV, enjoying the initial spectacle and waiting for the referee to blow the whistle to find out how this Copa del Rey final would end.

As we have already seen, Ancelotti reserved key players for this match, names like Valverde, Vinicius Jr, Camavinga and Alaba himself, who was returning after a long absence from the team, we would see them in the starting 11 after not seeing minutes in the closest match to this one, which was against Real Sociedad in La Liga Santander, the message at that time was clear and it was to turn the page and not risk anything at all, having already in mind this match.

Also note the presence of Tchouameni in the midfield, in my opinion not in the plans, entering a little in the mind of the Italian strategist who expected the return of the Croatian Modric, the Merengue DT considered that the 10 did not reach his maximum level or not recovered enough from his injury to face from minute 1 a final.

These were some of the moves made by the DT blanco, without leaving aside the offensive trident with Vinicius Jr, Benzema and Rodrygo that has given so much joy to the club. Absolutely nothing was reserved and they would look to solve the match quickly.

As soon as the match started, Osasuna would suffer the fast flanks of the merengue team, Vinicius, who has been making and unmaking anyone who crosses his path, would do the same with Moncayola who would be his first victim. With his usual dribbling and acceleration, the Brazilian would get rid of the Spanish midfielder's mark, taking the ball to the end lines of the opponent's area replicating a move somewhat similar to the one made by French Benzema against Atletico Madrid where he seemed to run out of space and with a technical gesture managed not only to get rid of several marks but also to serve the ball to the center of the opponent's penalty area, This situation was to be repeated, culminating with the appearance of Rodrygo, who shot the ball into the goal defended by Sergio Herrera, who was unable to stop the young Brazilian's shot, all this barely after 2 minutes. Real Madrid achieved its goal of taking the lead with its power in the squad.

It was clear that Madrid would dominate the start of the match, since immediately after the goal, Vinicius' chances on the wing would not stop, the Brazilian would continue to leave Moncayola in the way, who was already having a hard time against the very fast Merengue winger. Vinicius managed to get close to the opponent's area to serve a low cross for Rodrygo who was not selfish and made a back pass looking for Benzema who was also surprised by the pass and rushed to get to the ball to get a good shot that this time would receive a good response from Sergio Herrera. This was a play that in my opinion Madrid wasted as Rodrygo was left in solitude and was in a better position to finish the play.

Dominance is not always synonymous with victory, often the feeling of total control of the match often leads to confidence, this would be the word that would describe the mistake made by the Brazilian defender Militao who could cut a pass very easily, but he let his back be beaten by Abde who left the Merengue 3 on the floor and faced the Belgian goalkeeper 1 on 1, forcing Courtois to take a weak shot but with direction to goal that Dani Carvajal managed to clear a few centimeters from the line of his goal. It could be said that this was Madrid's first mistake by central defender Militao who, despite his good performances, also tends to make mistakes of this kind.

First flash of fortune for the Merengues to avoid the tie after Militao's mistake and Carvajal's save, but there is a phrase that says "One of lime and one of sand", since Osasuna would also have fortune on their side on this occasion after witnessing a free kick taken by Alaba that ended up crashing into one of Herrera's goal posts, Madrid was close to increasing the score with the excellent shot of the Austrian that missed for nothing.

This would be one of the last notable actions of the first half, beyond everything that happened between both clubs at the end of the first stage, I do not usually highlight the non-sporting, but I think it is worth mentioning the last performances of the Brazilian striker Vinicius that from my point of view I do not place him as a victim or as the cause of everything, in my opinion it is becoming evident that the little patience that the Merengue winger shows in situations like these, so it is very easy to take him out of the game from the mental aspect, one of the attitudes that I have always disagreed with is something similar to Neymar's where his incredible talent and good soccer are overshadowed by gestures and attitudes on the field, this is something that the current DT must work on, in this case Ancelotti, when the Brazilian loses focus of the game it affects the team a lot because of how effective the offense of the right wing is usually, this detail is usually more controlled when a veteran and positional partner like Benzema is present, the French usually brings the young Brazilian back to reality.

A first stage controlled by the Merengues, but even with the scoreboard dominated by the minimum, this was the summary that was left behind to welcome the second part of this final that for the moment was painted in white. And soccer is like that, in the moments of tranquility is when surprises can come...or maybe not so many surprises, as Madrid would return to face a second half with less revolutions compared to the one that had already ended. One of Osasuna's strong points was the aerial attack, there were many balls that Los Rojillos won in the Merengue area, so this would be the resource to be used by Arrasate's team, we would begin to see crosses into the area in search of an opportunity for a badly marked Osasuna player, but the answer would come from another side coming from the aforementioned crosses into the area, a first cross that would fly over the area from the far right to the left, The ball would end up outside the area but not out of danger, as Lucas Torró would take the decision to shoot from long distance that would end with the longed-for equalizer, The ball would enter the goal of Courtois, hitting the post leaving nothing to do to the Belgian who stretched to the maximum without being able to avoid the 1-1 in the 58th minute that gave life back to the match and enhanced Osasuna's illusions of snatching the title from the Merengues.

Ancelotti was beginning to notice a slowdown in the team's rhythm and the only area to touch would be the midfield, also looking for a solution to the losses in the crosses in their own area, so he was inclined to take off Tchouameni and bring on Rüdiger. Madrid had to get back on track and the best way to do it was to take advantage of Vinicius' wing that had done so much damage to Osasuna.

Minute 70', a play originates from the left winger being Vinicius the protagonist, this would apply the same recipe as in the first goal of the match, he would take the Osasuna defense adjusting his play to the end line of the field, He would leave several Rojillos players down again and would take a new filtered pass that Kroos would take advantage of with a strong shot, this would be deflected to Osasuna's bad fortune to the feet of Rodrygo who, this time in front of goal, did not hesitate and broke the tie, putting Madrid ahead on the scoreboard once again. What the young Brazilian has been doing in the last few days is incredible, there is a reason why they say that these are the months of Madrid, it is when their usual protagonists raise their level and become indispensable for the team.

With 20 minutes to go and some more in the added time, Ancelotti was ready to move pieces that would be crucial for the match itself and also in view of what was coming, which was not little like the Champions League semifinal against City. It is said that he who embraces too much embraces too little, that you must first achieve a goal and then think about the future, although it is true that Osasuna was tired after that hopeful goal that kept them with the tie, they gave their maximum effort and were exhausted by the final stages of the match, a Madrid that also slackened but did not neglect, it was just a matter of waiting for the final whistle to celebrate after 9 years of drought with respect to this local title.

And not only the title of King of Spain was the reason for celebration within the white house, but also more records were added within the institution and Karim Benzema became, together with the Brazilian former defender and captain of the Merengue club Marcelo, the Real Madrid player with more titles won (25), demonstrating the quality of players that the institution has, who despite their age continue making history and continue to be key pieces for the team in the search to continue harvesting triumphs and conquests like yesterday's by lifting the Copa del Rey.

After this great event, it only remains for me to say goodbye my dear Hivers, wishing you as always a happy Sunday, waiting for you in what will be a productive week that reserves us incredible confrontations, but all this will be until the next opportunity in which we will see each other again.

Fuentes de las imágenes

Image sources