 TheMestalla Stadium inValencia hosted the final | |||||||
| Event | 2013–14 Copa del Rey | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 15 April 2014 (2014-04-15) | ||||||
| Venue | Mestalla,Valencia | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) | ||||||
| Referee | Antonio Mateu Lahoz | ||||||
| Attendance | 52,953 | ||||||
←2013 2015 → | |||||||
The2014 Copa del Rey final was the 112th final ofSpain's premier football cup since its establishment (including two seasons where two rival editions were played). The match was anEl Clásico betweenReal Madrid andBarcelona on 15 April 2014 atMestalla inValencia,[1][2] making it the seventh such Copa del Rey final (the most recent was also played at the Mestalla on 20 April 2011).
Real Madrid won the cup for the 19th time after a 2–1 win.[3][4][5] In winning the final, Real Madrid went on to play againstAtlético Madrid, the winners of the2013–14 La Liga season, in the2014 Supercopa de España.
| Real Madrid | Round | Barcelona | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Opponent | Result | Legs | |
| Olímpic de Xàtiva | 2–0 | 0–0 away; 2–0 home | Round of 32 | Cartagena | 7–1 | 4–1 away; 3–0 home |
| Osasuna | 4–0 | 2–0 home; 2–0 away | Round of 16 | Getafe | 6–0 | 4–0 home; 2–0 away |
| Espanyol | 2–0 | 1–0 away; 1–0 home | Quarter-finals | Levante | 9–2 | 4–1 away; 5–1 home |
| Atlético Madrid | 5–0 | 3–0 home; 2–0 away | Semi-finals | Real Sociedad | 3–1 | 2–0 home; 1–1 away |
The match was rescheduled to be played three days earlier than the original date as there was a chance that both clubs could haveUEFA Champions League semi-finals the following week. Each team was allotted 20,000 tickets for club members.[6]Real Madrid's top scorer of the seasonCristiano Ronaldo missed the final due to knee and thigh injuries.[7][8]
Real Madrid were appearing in their 39th Copa del Rey Final, with a prior tally of 18 victories, while Barcelona had won 26 of their 35 finals. The two teams had each won three of the six previousEl Clásico finals: Real Madrid in 1936,1974 and2011, Barcelona in1968,1983 and1990. The 2011 win was Real Madrid's most recent, having been defeated in the2013 final. Barcelona had last won the cup in2012.[9]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Gareth Bale's incredible goal against Barcelona | Copa del Rey Final 2014 onYouTube |
After 11 minutes Real Madrid went in front whenÁngel Di María's low left footed shot from the left went throughJordi Alba's legs and in off goalkeeperJosé Manuel Pinto's left hand. Barcelona were level in the 68th minute whenMarc Bartra headed into the far corner of the net after aXavi corner from the left.[10]
The winning goal came with five minutes to go whenGareth Bale picked the ball up just inside his own half on the left wing and went past Bartra at a blistering pace (at one point off the field before running back onto the field) leaving Bartra in his wake, before running into the penalty area, evading more challenges and then composedly slotting the ball left-footed low past the goalkeeper from six yards out.Some footballpundits labelled his goal as a masterclass,[11] whilst Barcelona coachGerardo Martino admitted that it was "difficult to see a player sprint like that at that stage of the game".[12]
          Real Madrid |     Barcelona |
|  |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino said: "It is difficult to see a player sprint like that at that stage of the game."
