Barcelona on Wednesday entered their Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Madrid with a chance of earning a fourth straight win over them in the same season for the first time, but instead were humbled in one of their worst home losses against their archrivals, a resounding 4-0 defeat.
With another hat-trick by Karim Benzema, Madrid overturned Barcelona’s first-leg advantage at the Camp Nou to reach the final for the first time in nearly a decade.
Madrid had not beaten Barcelona by four goals at the stadium since a 5-1 win in 1963.
Photo: Reuters
Vinicius Junior also scored as Madrid advanced 4-1 on aggregate after having lost the first leg 1-0 at home.
Benzema also had a hat-trick in Madrid’s 6-0 rout of Valladolid in La Liga on Sunday.
“It’s obvious that after Karim improved, the team improved as well,” Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said. “When he is at his best, everything is better for us. And [Luka] Modric and [Toni] Kroos also had great games. In these types of matches, experience makes a difference.”
Madrid face CA Osasuna in the final on May 6 in Seville.
Madrid had not made it to the final since 2013-2014, when they beat Barcelona to win the most recent of their 19 Copa del Rey titles.
Barcelona, the tournament’s most successful club with 31 titles, were trying to return to the final for the first time since winning it in 2020-2021.
With the win, Madrid avoided losing four straight matches to Barcelona in the same season for the first time.
Madrid won 3-1 in the first clasico of the season in La Liga, but since then had lost 3-1 in the Supercopa final, 1-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final and 2-1 in their other league match.
“We deserved more in the first half, but in the second they were much better, there are no excuses,” Barcelona manager Xavi said. “It’s a tough loss to take, one by several goals, but we have to start thinking about the Spanish league right away.”
The game was mostly even early on, but Madrid were in control after taking the lead just before halftime and could have ended up with an even bigger win had they not squandered some late chances.
Vinicius opened the scoring in first-half stoppage-time with a shot from the middle of the box after a breakaway that also involved Rodrygo and Benzema. The breakaway started after Barcelona squandered a chance at the other end with Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saving a shot by Robert Lewandowski.
Benzema added to the lead in the 50th minute with a low shot from just inside the area after a pass by Luka Modric, then got his second by converting a penalty in the 58th minute after Vinicius was fouled by Franck Kessie. His third came in a three-on-two situation following a breakaway in the 81st minute.
“It was a beautiful result, very satisfying,” Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde said. “It was important to win no matter what, but we played a great match, especially in the second half.”
Madrid trail Barcelona by 12 points in the league, but can still win the UEFA Champions League in addition to the Copa del Rey.
They have already won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup this season.
They face Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday next week.
The game at the Camp Nou got heated at times, with Vinicius and a few Barcelona players getting into minor altercations.
The match had to be interrupted a few times as fans threw objects on the field.
In the 10th minute, fans chanted Lionel Messi’s name as the former Barcelona star goes through a tough moment with Paris Saint-Germain.
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