Barcelona players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Spanish Copa del Rey final soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Estadio de La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo / Joan Monfort)
Barcelona players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Spanish Copa del Rey final soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Estadio de La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo / Joan Monfort)
Barcelona players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Spanish Copa del Rey final soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Estadio de La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo / Joan Monfort)
Barcelona players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Spanish Copa del Rey final soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Estadio de La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, Apri

Barcelona edge Real Madrid in extra-time to win wild Copa del Rey final


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Barcelona defender Jules Kounde struck deep in extra-time to decide an action-packed Copa del Rey Clasico final on Saturday in Seville, earning his side a 3-2 win over rivals Real Madrid.

The Catalans, aiming for a quadruple this season, won the first major trophy of Hansi Flick's reign as coach and a record-extending 32nd Spanish cup in dramatic fashion.

Three Real Madrid players were sent off during and after a fiery conclusion to the game, including England international Jude Bellingham.

Pedri put Barcelona ahead at La Cartuja but two Real Madrid goals in seven second-half minutes, from Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni, pulled the Spanish and European champions level.

However, Ferran Torres struck in the 84th minute to take the game to extra-time and Kounde drilled home to win it for the La Liga leaders.

“Madrid pushed us to our limits but we showed great character and pride,” said Kounde.

Barca host Inter Milan in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday.

“They can make a party – for today, it's OK,” a delighted Flick, who has won all seven finals he has coached in his career, told Movistar.

Substituted Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger was sent off in the final seconds for “throwing an object” on to the pitch towards referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, according to the official's report, and Lucas Vazquez, also replaced, was dismissed for further protest as Madrid unravelled.

Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle for showing an “aggressive attitude” towards the referee, who wrote that the midfielder “had to be restrained by his teammates”.

“I don't want to talk about the referee,” said stone-faced Madrid coach Ancelotti. “I don't know what happened at the end.”

Madrid had issued furious statements about the refereeing team on Friday after they criticised the club's television channel for attacking Spanish officials this season, casting a shadow over the game.

Controversy aside, the football was enthralling. Madrid started with top scorer Mbappe on the bench after an ankle injury and lost Ferland Mendy early on with a thigh issue.

Barcelona dazzling winger Lamine Yamal, 17, dyed his hair blond for the game and led the assault on Thibaut Courtois' goal.

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates with the trophy. Reuters
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates with the trophy. Reuters

The Catalans, who also won the first two Clasicos this season in La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup, scoring nine goals in the process, controlled the ball.

They took the lead after 28 minutes, Pedri placing the ball into the top corner with precision and power from the edge of the box, a sensational goal set up by Yamal.

Barcelona's opener brought Madrid out of their shell – and also Mbappe off the bench to warm up.

Bellingham netted but was offside. Vinicius Junior would have won a penalty when hacked down but had also strayed off in the build-up.

Barcelona could have doubled their lead, with Dani Olmo's corner hitting the post and Cubarsi unable to turn home as Dani Ceballos held him back.

The referee was lenient with some heated Madrid tackles, perhaps cowed by Friday's drama as the Spanish champions seethed at his prematch comments.

Madrid sent Mbappe on for Rodrygo Goes at half-time and soon he and Vinicius began to work Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Mbappe pulled Madrid level almost on his own in the 70th minute, brought down after surging forward and firing home the free-kick off the post.

Seven minutes later Madrid took the lead, Tchouameni heading in Arda Guler's corner.

Barcelona responded when Yamal played a delicious pass over the top for Torres, which drew both Rudiger and Courtois, but the Spaniard beat both and rolled home.

Controversy unsurprisingly reared its head before the match headed to extra-time.

Barcelona clamoured for a penalty when Rudiger tripped Torres, and then were awarded one deep in stoppage time as Raphinha tumbled under pressure – but the decision was overturned after a VAR review.

In extra-time Barcelona were ascendant. They found their winner when Kounde intercepted an uncharacteristically loose Luka Modric pass and beat Courtois from range, sparking wild celebrations.

The trio of dismissals and Madrid's prematch histrionics regarding the officials will ensure the repercussions run on.

The teams meet again in La Liga in May in a potential title decider.

If you go

The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes.


The car
Hertz offers compact car rental from about $300 (Dh1,100) per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.


The national park
Entry to Mount Rainier National Park costs $30 for one vehicle and passengers for up to seven days. Accommodation can be booked through mtrainierguestservices.com. Prices vary according to season. Rooms at the Holiday Inn Yakima cost from $125 per night, excluding breakfast.

Venom

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed

Rating: 1.5/5

Company Profile 

Founder: Omar Onsi

Launched: 2018

Employees: 35

Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)

Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners

The Africa Institute 101

Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction. 

Kandahar%20
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SPEC%20SHEET
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MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)

Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports

ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS

- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns 

- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars

- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes

- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts

Company profile

Name: Dukkantek 

Started: January 2021 

Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani 

Based: UAE 

Number of employees: 140 

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service) 

Investment: $5.2 million 

Funding stage: Seed round 

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office  

Factfile on Garbine Muguruza:

Name: Garbine Muguruza (ESP)

World ranking: 15 (will rise to 5 on Monday)

Date of birth: October 8, 1993

Place of birth: Caracas, Venezuela

Place of residence: Geneva, Switzerland

Height: 6ft (1.82m)

Career singles titles: 4

Grand Slam titles: 2 (French Open 2016, Wimbledon 2017)

Career prize money: $13,928,719

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Match info

Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')

Previous men's records
  • 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
  • 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
  • 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
  • 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
  • 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
  • 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
  • 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
  • 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
  • 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
  • 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia

Three Penalties

v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)

v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)

v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)

Four Corners

v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)

v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)

v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)

v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)

One Free-Kick

v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)

TCL INFO

Teams:
Punjabi Legends 
Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan

Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals

States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press

UAE squad

Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.

The Brutalist

Director: Brady Corbet

Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn

Rating: 3.5/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Match info

Premier League

Manchester United 2 (Martial 30', Lingard 69')
Arsenal 2 (Mustafi 26', Rojo 68' OG)

SPEC SHEET

Display: 10.4-inch IPS LCD, 400 nits, toughened glass

CPU: Unisoc T610; Mali G52 GPU

Memory: 4GB

Storage: 64GB, up to 512GB microSD

Camera: 8MP rear, 5MP front

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio

Battery: 8200mAh, up to 10 hours video

Platform: Android 11

Audio: Stereo speakers, 2 mics

Durability: IP52

Biometrics: Face unlock

Price: Dh849

Updated: April 27, 2025, 5:57 AM