A Final To Remember?

It's a Clasico Copa del Rey showpiece on Saturday.

On Saturday, La Cartuja will play host to Real Madrid and Barcelona for the Copa del Rey final - only the seventh time in the history of the cup that these two heavyweights meet in the final and the first time in over a decade.

They have endured contrasting seasons, and though Barcelona come into the tie as clear favourites, both sides will know that anything can happen in a final.

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A REAL PROBLEM?

The great Arrigo Sacchi once called football the most important of the least important things in life. His truest disciple, Carlo Ancelotti, would undoubtedly agree, even as he gears up to lead Real Madrid into their 41st Copa del Rey final this weekend.

In many ways, Madrid’s route to the final is a perfect representation of their season under Ancelotti: wild, unpredictable, unconvincing, but still just about tantalising enough. Against Celta Vigo in the round of 16, they surged ahead with a two-goal lead, collapsed spectacularly in stoppage time, then scored three in extra time like it was nothing at all, the contest ending 5-2.

In the quarter-final, it was Leganes. Same story, different cast. Two-goal lead? Check. Lead blown late on? Of course. Rescue act in the 93rd minute to book their spot in the next round? Naturally. This time it came from never-to-be-seen-again academy graduate Gonzalo Garcia. Even the background actors have starring moments here. It was 3-2 in the end, drama by design.

And then came the semi-final. If the last 16 and the quarters were exciting, this was absolute bedlam. After a timid first leg against Real Sociedad at Anoeta saw them take a 1-0 lead, Madrid did their thing in the second. Real Sociedad cut the lead early on, but Endrick restored it. Pablo Marin and Mikel Oyarzabal tried hard, but Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni and then finally, Antonio Rudiger, sealed the deal with a 5-4 aggregate finish. After all, this is still Ancelotti’s Madrid. They take it deep, yes, but they almost always take it home.