This season’s Copa del Rey semi-finals have surely been a spectacle, thrilling fans of the teams involved in this knockout stage of the tournament.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid delivered an electrifying 4-4 stalemate in their first leg, with the return fixture still to come. Meanwhile, a narrow 1-0 victory for Real Madrid over Real Sociedad hardly suggested the ensuing eight-goal bonanza on Tuesday night.
Imanol Alguacil, the manager of Real Sociedad, had only secured one win in his previous eight encounters against Carlo Ancelotti (D1 L6) – a 2-0 triumph at home in LaLiga back in May 2023. Thus, many supporters making the trip would have braced themselves for a challenging second leg.
Moreover, prior to this match, Sociedad had not won in their last four away fixtures across all competitions (D1 L3), conceding an average of 3.25 goals per game, which included their elimination from the Europa League by Manchester United.
They hadn’t gone five straight away matches without a victory since April 2023 (D2 L4), which had also seen them knocked out of the Europa League (v Roma).
Sociedad’s Previous Elimination of Madrid
In their last Copa del Rey semi-final matchup, Sociedad eliminated Real Madrid with a resounding 4-0 win at Santiago Bernabéu in 1988. While a similar scoreline was highly unlikely to be repeated, could history repeat itself in terms of the eventual outcome?
The Txuri-Urdin could reflect fondly on their previous clash with Los Blancos in the Copa del Rey, where they triumphed in a single-legged tie in February 2020 (4-3 in the quarter-finals), despite being winless in their last four visits to the Santiago Bernabéu across all competitions (D2, L2).
For once, Ancelotti exhibited an animated presence on the sidelines, particularly as the match swung back and forth dramatically.
Although Real Sociedad took an early lead through Ander Barrenetxea in the 16th minute, the hosts gradually seized control.
As a result, Madrid recorded a staggering 69.1% possession in the following 15 minutes, launching six shots at goal while Sociedad managed none before half-time. Endrick’s 30th-minute goal was noteworthy as it marked the eighth instance this season that Los Blancos found the net within the first 45 minutes of a Copa encounter, with only Barcelona scoring more (11).
With 67.9% possession at the start of the second half, it seemed likely that Madrid would comfortably secure a win, and goalkeeper Alex Remiro of Sociedad was kept under significant pressure.
Despite ultimately conceding four goals, he did make five crucial saves, the first time he had recorded that many in a Copa del Rey match since facing Real Betis on 26th January 2021.
Despite Madrid’s impressive ball control and intricate passing, Ancelotti’s star-studded squad found themselves conceding two additional goals before they managed to claw their way back into the contest.
Jude Bellingham, who found the back of the net that night, extended his tally for chance creation in this Copa del Rey season to 11, just one shy of teammate Luka Modric, who holds the highest record despite playing only 273 minutes.
While Vini Jr did not find the scoresheet this time, he remained involved and attempted five shots for the first time in the competition since Real faced Atletico Madrid on 18th January 2024.
Arda Guler’s Short but Impactful Appearance
Arda Guler’s brief 15-minute stint was certainly impactful, raising further questions regarding his lack of regular starting opportunities under Ancelotti.
Just 10 minutes after his introduction, the 20-year-old Turkish talent assisted Antonio Rudiger’s decisive goal in the 115th minute.
This was Guler’s third assist of the tournament (no player has more), with all of them occurring in extra time (the others being at 108 and 119 minutes for Endrick during a 5-2 win against Celta Vigo).
Rudiger’s powerful header marked the fifth instance in the 2024/25 Copa del Rey where a Real substitute scored, more than any other side this season, signifying the value of a deep bench.
Given how relentlessly Los Blancos attacked, it is puzzling how La Real managed to net four goals, and it will certainly give Ancelotti something to ponder before the final.
This marked the first occasion Sociedad scored four goals in a match since February 6th, 2020, coincidentally also against Real Madrid in a thrilling 4-3 victory.
On Tuesday night, two of Sociedad’s goals came in a frenetic final ten minutes of normal time, highlighting Real Madrid’s vulnerability as they conceded four goals within the last 15 minutes of the second half—the most of any team in this season’s Copa del Rey.
Mikel Oyarzabal’s second goal, which equalised the match in stoppage time and sent it into extra time, marked his first brace since January 5th, 2022, against Leganes. His impressive tally of 14 shots in the competition is also the highest of any player in the 24/25 season.
The visitors could understandably feel aggrieved after being heavily involved in a match many football fans may have predicted would be a simple win for Madrid.
In the end, Real Madrid had to dig deep to rely on their renowned powers of recovery late in the game, and even when Oyarzabal’s 93rd-minute equaliser seemed to take the wind out of their sails, they still managed to pull through.
What awaited them as a reward? A tantalising El Clasico or El Derbi Madrileno finale against either local rivals Atletico or eternal adversaries Barcelona.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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