Real Madrid fell just short against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final. However, despite the 3-2 loss, this was by far one of the best displays of football from Los Blancos this season. A matchup that could have ended much worse for Madrid was instead as close as football gets, needing a 116th-minute screamer from Jules Kounde to seal the win for Barcelona.
The Madrid players showed incredible resilience and executed brilliant counter-attacking football in the second half. Most of the Los Blancos players played at a very high level. However, there were a few who failed to impress. Here are three stars and three flops from Real Madrid’s matchup against Barcelona.
Real Madrid's three stars and three flops against Barcelona in Copa Del Rey final
Star - Jude Bellingham
Bellingham was the heart of Real Madrid’s midfield against the Culers. Whether it was a crunching ball winning tackle, dribbling through midfield into the final third, or delivering a defence splitting pass, Bellingham was doing it all. He was arguably the best Real Madrid player in this El Clasico.
The English midfielder showed once again why Real Madrid brought him in the first place. After last season’s heroics, he has continued performing at a high level this year, despite the fact that his role has shifted from a more attacking midfielder to a deeper position in the midfield.
Star - Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe wasn’t among the starters due to some discomfort, but he was brought on in place of Rodrygo in the second half and turned the match on its head. He scored a fantastic direct free kick to equalize in the 70th minute and played with intensity throughout the rest of the game.
Even though Real Madrid lost, Mbappe was a huge, huge part in making sure it went to extra time.
Star - Arda Guler
Arda Guler’s recent performances have given Carlo Ancelotti every reason to include him in the starting lineup regularly. However, he was brought on in the second half of this match.
He broke through Barcelona’s defensive lines with ease and also picked up an assist, as Aurelien Tchouameni headed in a goal from his corner kick. Guler was also one pass away from being clear on goal on more than one occasion but that pass never arrived from his teammates.
Flop - Vinicius Junior
It’s disheartening to see the player who was the best player last season fail to perform in important matches this season.
Vinicius was trying too hard to make an impact and prove himself. This made things unnecessarily complicated for him, and he ended up having another sub-par performance. He missed a great opportunity to score and instead ran into traffic, giving the ball away to the Barca keeper.
Fans expect nothing but the best from the Brazilian, so he clearly needs to get his head back in the game and improve.
Flop - Rodrygo
Another Brazilian who failed to make any impact in the matchup. Ancelotti opted to start him alongside Vinicius, but Rodrygo had no shots on goal which says a lot about his performance. It almost seems like he has grown too comfortable despite not being involved in goal contributions recently.
He was justifiably substituted in the second half, with Mbappe brought on in his place.
Flop - Brahim Diaz
Diaz made a crucial error that led to Koundé’s winning goal. Although some might argue it was as much Modrić’s fault as Diaz’s, the pass was intended for the Spaniard, but he waited too long and made no real effort to get to the ball before Kounde snatched it up and put the decisive nail in Madrid’s coffin. Aside from that error, he was also clumsy throughout his 31-minute stint and showed no conviction in his play.
With the Copa del Rey defeat, Real Madrid’s chances of winning any major trophy have diminished even further. Although they can still win La Liga, it no longer depends solely on their own results, as they are four points behind Barcelona. Even if Real Madrid do manage to win the league, they will need to improve significantly next season to come back as a stronger side.