Barcelona’s late goals break Ancelotti’s heart
The final two goals from Barcelona shattered the heart of Real Madrid’s coach.
After Jules Koundé’s late strike, Carlo Ancelotti’s face said it all. The experienced Italian stood frozen on the sidelines, the worry clear across his expression, knowing there wasn’t much time left. The man who had led countless Real Madrid comebacks was this time left facing the opposite experience. Despite rallying from behind to take the lead, the Spanish champions couldn’t close it out. Ancelotti, usually a calm figure of resilience, looked completely broken by the end.
Real Madrid fell 3–2 to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.
After falling behind early, the European giants turned the game around with two second-half goals to lead 2–1.
Normally, this is when Real Madrid tighten their grip and see matches out.
But in a game filled with constant twists, they suffered a bitter defeat at the hands of their eternal rivals.
In the 84th minute, Ferran Torres equalized on a swift counter-attack.
Then, as everyone was bracing for a penalty shootout, Koundé produced a brilliant goal in extra time to put Barcelona ahead in the 116th minute — and this time, Real had no answer.
This was Real Madrid’s third loss to Barcelona in their three meetings this season.
Speaking after the match, Ancelotti admitted the defeat was a tough one to take:
“We were very close to winning and then conceded a strange goal at the very end… a ball over the back of the defense… but that’s what can happen against Barça.”
He continued:
“We tried until the end, we were close to winning… the second half was very good, but that’s football. The game was balanced. Barça were better in the first half, we were better in the second.”
Despite the painful collapse, Ancelotti refused to blame his players.
Nor did he criticize those involved in the defensive lapses that led to the final two goals:
“There’s nothing negative to say about a team that fought so hard. We gave it everything. If we had won, it wouldn’t have been anything out of the ordinary. Until the final shock, we played really well…”
