Best Copa del Rey final goals
Barcelona and Real Madrid meet this Saturday in the final of the Copa del Rey.
Both teams came through tight semi-finals, with Madrid 5-4 winners over Real Sociedad 5-4 on aggregate after extra time and Barça overcoming Atlético Madrid by the same scoreline.
Madrid and Barça have faced off in seven previous Copa del Rey finals and there have been some memorable matches and goals in those contests.
Other winners over the past couple of decades include Sevilla, AtlĂ©tico Madrid, Valencia, Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Athletic Club. Here, a look at some of the best goals scored in Copa finals over the years…
Bernd Schuster (Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid, 1992)
Bernd Schuster in 1996. (Image credit: Getty Images)After spells at both Barcelona and Real Madrid, Bernd Schuster spent three seasons at Atlético and won two Copa del Rey titles with the Rojiblancos.
Schuster scored a fantastic free-kick to open the scoring as Atleti beat Real Madrid in the 1992 final, curling an effort into the top corner after seven minutes at the Santiago BernabĂ©u. Paulo Futre netted the other goal in a 2-0 win for Luis AragonĂ©s’ side.
Predrag Mijatovic (Valencia vs Deportivo La Coruña, 1995)
Predrag Mijatovic in action for Real Madrid in the Champions League in April 1998. (Image credit: Getty Images)Predrag Mijatovic scored a superb free-kick for Valencia against Deportivo La Coruña to level the scores at 1-1 in the 1995 Copa del Rey final at the Santiago Bernabéu.
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Mijatovic curled a shot low and inside the post from around 25 yards out on a wet pitch and minutes later, the match was suspended due to the heavy rain. The two teams came back three days later to finish off the game and an Alfredo goal shortly after the restart sealed a 2-1 win for Deportivo.
Gaizka Mendieta (Valencia vs Atlético Madrid, 1999)
Gaizka Mendieta celebrates after scoring for Valencia against Barcelona in the Champions League in May 2000. (Image credit: Getty Images)Gaizka Mendieta scored some stunning goals during his time at Valencia and one of the very best came in the 1999 Copa del Rey final against Atlético Madrid.
Mendieta controlled the ball with his chest just inside the area, flipped it over his head with his back to goal to evade a couple of Atlético defenders and volleyed past goalkeeper José Molina to put Valencia 2-0 up in a 3-0 win in Seville.
RaĂșl Tamudo (Espanyol vs AtlĂ©tico Madrid, 2000)
Raul Tamudo celebrates a goal for Espanyol against Real Zaragoza in December 2005. (Image credit: Getty Images)Espanyol beat AtlĂ©tico Madrid 2-1 in the 2000 Copa del Rey final at Mestalla and RaĂșl Tamudo gave the Catalans an early lead with an extraordinary goal.
As Atlético goalkeeper Toni Jiménez bounced the ball, Tamudo reacted quickly to head it away in mid-air and then rounded his former team-mate to score inside two minutes. Sergio Gonzålez later made it 2-0 to Espanyol with a fierce effort on the bounce from outside the box and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink reduced the deficit with a fine volley in the final minute.
David Beckham (Real Madrid vs Real Zaragoza, 2004)
David Beckham celebrates after scoring a free-kick for Real Madrid against Real Zaragoza in the 2004 Copa del Rey final. (Image credit: Getty Images)David Beckham gave Real Madrid the lead against Real Zaragoza in the 2004 Copa del Rey final with one of his trademark free-kicks.
The former England captain curled a shot into the top corner from fully 35 yards out to put Los Blancos in front at MontjuĂŻc, but Zaragoza went on to win the match 3-2 after extra time.
Luciano Galletti (Real Zaragoza vs Real Madrid, 2004)
Luciano Galletti (right) celebrates after scoring Real Zaragoza’s third goal against Real Madrid in the 2004 Copa del Rey final. (Image credit: Getty Images)Real Zaragoza beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the 2004 Copa del Rey final at MontjuĂŻc and Luciano Galletti’s winner was something special.
The Argentine midfielder unleashed a dipping drive from 30 yards out which bounced in front of CĂ©sar SĂĄnchez and beat the Madrid goalkeeper inside his right-hand post in the second period of extra time.
Yaya Touré (Barcelona vs Athletic Club, 2009)
Yaya Toure celebrates after scoring for Barcelona against Athletic Club in the 2009 Copa del Rey final. (Image credit: Getty Images)Yaya Touré started the 2009 Copa del Rey final at centre-back for Barcelona, but the Ivorian got forward to strike a superb equaliser for the Blaugrana against Athletic Club at Mestalla.
Touré picked the ball up inside his own half, beat three Athletic players on an impressive run and blasted a low shot into the corner from outside the box to level the scores after an early goal from Gaizka Toquero. Barça went on to win 4-1 and completed the treble a couple of weeks later.
Diego Capel (Sevilla vs Atlético Madrid, 2010)
Diego Capel celebrates after scoring for Sevilla against Atletico Madrid in the 2010 Copa del Rey final at Camp Nou. (Image credit: Getty Images)Sevilla beat Atlético Madrid 2-0 at Camp Nou in the 2010 Copa del Rey final and Diego Capel set the Andalusians on their way to victory with an unbelievable strike inside five minutes.
After a JesĂșs Navas shot from distance was blocked, Capel hit the loose ball into the corner with an unstoppable left-footed drive from just inside the ‘D’. Incredible hit.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid vs Barcelona, 2011)
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his winner for Real Madrid against Barcelona in the 2011 Copa del Rey final at Mestalla. (Image credit: Getty Images)Real Madrid met Barcelona four times in the space of 17 days towards the end of the 2010/11 season and in the Copa del Rey final at Mestalla, Los Blancos came out on top in extra time.
After a goalless 90 minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo rose to power home a header from an Ăngel Di MarĂa cross to seal a 1-0 win for Madrid and a first piece of silverware at the club for both the Portuguese and coach JosĂ© Mourinho.
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid vs Barcelona, 2014)
Gareth Bale scores a memorable solo goal for Real Madrid against Barcelona in the 2014 Copa del Rey final at Mestalla. (Image credit: Getty Images)Gareth Bale’s first season at Real Madrid ended with Copa del Rey and Champions League wins â and the Welsh winger scored in both finals.
Bale ran half the Mestalla pitch in the Copa final, leaving Marc Bartra in his wake before cutting inside and slotting a shot through the legs of José Pinto to score a wonderful winner in a 2-1 victory for Los Blancos.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona vs Athletic Club, 2015)
Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring for Barcelona against Athletic Club in the final of the Copa del Rey in May 2015. (Image credit: Getty Images)After wrapping up La Liga in May 2015, Barcelona added the Copa del Rey title late in the month with a 3-1 win over Athletic Club in the final at Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi scored twice and his first goal was one of his very best as he picked up the ball by the right touchline and dribbled past half the Athletic team before slotting home with a low finish inside the post. Stunning. A week later, Barça completed the treble by beating Juventus 3-1 in the Champions League final in Berlin.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona vs Deportivo Alavés, 2017)
Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring for Barcelona against Deportivo Alaves in the 2017 Copa del Rey final. (Image credit: Getty Images)Lionel Messi opened the scoring for Barcelona against Deportivo Alavés in the 2017 Copa del Rey final with another superb strike.
The Argentine played a one-two with Neymar outside the area and curled an inch-perfect left-footed effort into the corner as Barça beat AlavĂ©s 3-1 in Luis Enrique’s last game as coach.
Theo Hernåndez (Deportivo Alavés vs Barcelona, 2017)
Theo Hernandez celebrates after scoring for Deportivo Alaves against Barcelona in the 2017 Copa del Rey final. (Image credit: Getty Images)Theo Hernåndez spent the 2016/17 season on loan at Deportivo Alavés from Atlético Madrid and the left-back scored a fabulous free-kick against Barcelona in the 2017 Copa del Rey final.
From a position wide on the right, Theo curled a left-footed shot over Jasper Cillessen in the Barcelona goal and into the top corner to level the scores at 1-1. Barça went on to win 3-1 in the last-ever final at the Vicente Calderón.
Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona vs Sevilla, 2018)
Andres Iniesta celebrates after scoring for Barcelona against Sevilla in the 2018 Copa del Rey final. (Image credit: Getty Images)Barcelona thrashed Sevilla 5-0 at AtlĂ©tico Madrid’s Metropolitano home in the 2018 Copa del Rey final.
Andrés Iniesta, in his final season as a Barça player, captained the team and scored the pick of the goals as he played a one-two with Lionel Messi, rounded goalkeeper David Soria and slotted into the empty net from a tight angle on his last cup final appearance for the Blaugrana.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona vs Athletic Club, 2021)
Lionel Messi lifts the Copa del Rey trophy after Barcelona’s win over Athletic Club in the 2021 final. (Image credit: Getty Images)Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona beat Athletic Club 4-0 to win the 2021 Copa del Rey final and the Argentine’s second strike was a memorable one.
All of Barça’s goals came in a 12-minute spell in the second half, with Messi driving forward to create and score the fourth, playing a couple of one-twos with Frenkie de Jong before shaking off two defenders in the box and slotting low into the corner to round off a big win. It was Ronald Koeman’s only trophy as Barça coach in a match played without fans due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Lucas TorrĂł (Osasuna vs Real Madrid, 2023)
Lucas Torro scores for Osasuna against Real Madrid in the 2023 Copa del Rey final in Seville. (Image credit: Getty Images)Rodrygo scored twice as Real Madrid beat Osasuna 2-1 to win the 2023 Copa del Rey final, but Lucas TorrĂł’s second-half strike was the pick of the goals in Seville.
Abde Ezzalzouli’s ball in from the left was deflected after 58 minutes and sat up on the edge of the box for TorrĂł, who hit a shot on the bounce which flew past Thibaut Courtois into the bottom corner to level the scores at 1-1.
