Barcelona vs Real Madrid: 5 Classic Copa del Rey Matches

Saturday evening will see a particularly important edition of El Clasico, with Real Madrid facing Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.

This will be the eighth occasion that Spain's two biggest sides have met in the final of the Copa del Rey, and history would suggest that Carlo Ancelotti's side should come out on top, having won four of those seven.

History can easily count for nothing in football, though, and with Barcelona leading La Liga and still in the Champions League, they have to be viewed as the slight favorites when the match at Estadio La Cartuja in Seville gets underway.

Here is a look at five of the most entertaining Copa del Rey matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona over the years.

April 16, 2024: Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona

Easily one of the most famous El Clasico moments in recent years was witnessing Gareth Bale storm down the left side of the pitch to eventually score the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final for Real Madrid.

Angel Di Maria had put Los Blancos ahead after a very smart team move, but Marc Bartra equalized for Barcelona in the second half with a stunning header. When it seemed that extra time was on the way, Bale produced his famous run from the halfway line where he left Bartra in his wake and eventually poked the ball underneath Pinto.

It was one of the two clear crowning moments in Bale's Real Madrid career, along with the overhead kick against Liverpool in a Champions League final. He may have ended up being an unpopular figure, but he will always have this night at the Mestalla.

April 5, 2023: Barcelona 0-4 Real Madrid

Coming into this semi-final second leg at the Camp Nou, Barcelona was 1-0 ahead and just needed to get a draw against Real Madrid. The Blaugrana looked the most likely to score in the first half, but a stunning counter-attack on the stroke of half-time levelled the tie.

Then in the second half, Los Blancos emphatically turned the screw. Benzema got his first as the half began and put Real Madrid in control of the tie. Soon after, a penalty was awarded after Franck Kessie tripped Vinicius Jr. Benzema stepped up, grabbed his second, and put Real Madrid on the brink of another final.

With Barcelona committing bodies forward, Real Madrid broke in the last 10 minutes and another impressive counter-attack ended with Benzema getting his hat-trick and capping off a 4-0 win on the night.

January 30, 1997: Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid

This round of 16 match may have been a first leg, but it came with a huge amount of entertainment and two comebacks. Ronaldo Nazario was the first scorer after 13 minutes as he finished calmly past Bodo Illgner. Real Madrid fought immediately, though, with Davor Suker finding the back of the net.

It took until the 67th minute for Real Madrid to take the lead of the match, and it was a simpl;y stunning free-kick from Fernando Hierro which did it. Three minutes later, though, he went from hero to zero as a free-kick struck his heel and totally wrong-footed Illgner, which went down as an own goal.

With the bit between their teeth, Barcelona pushed on and Giovanni excellently headed in a Pep Guardiola corner to make it 3-2. The second leg would end 1-1 and Barcelona would go on to win the entire tournament.

February 27, 2019: Real Madrid 0-3 Barcelona

The first leg of this semi-final tie ended 1-1 at the Camp Nou and it was all to play for at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Both Benzema and Vinicius Jr. missed superb chances to put Real Madrid ahead, and they were made to pay for it in the second half.

A piercing run from Ousmane Dembele and then a smart finish from Luis Suarez put Barcelona 1-0 up. Real Madrid continued to have the best chances but simply could not score, until Raphael Varane put through his own net with 20 minutes to play.

Finally, a Casemiro trip on Suarez allowed the Uruguayan the chance to score a super panenka penalty and ensure that Barcelona made it into the final. They did not have the last laugh, though, as Valencia would eventually win the Copa del Rey.

June 29, 1974: Real Madrid 4-0 Barcelona

Now here is a situation that Real Madrid fans would love to see a repeat of. Back in 1974, Los Blancos had the joy of winning the Copa del Rey final whilst putting four past Barcelona.

There was a lot of pride on the line, given that this Barcelona team, led by Rinus Michels, had claimed the La Liga title that season and beat Real Madrid 5-0 at the Bernabeu in the process. Real Madrid could only manage a terrible eighth-place finish.

Goals from Santillana, Benito Rubinan, Francisco Aguilar and Pirri meant that Real Madrid fans had at least something to cheer about, although Barcelona may have still been the happier with a La Liga win and a 5-0 away victory at the Bernabeu.

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