Benzema, Camavinga, aim timings, kind and reaching the ultimate

• By
  
  Sam Leveridge
  
• on April 5, 2023 11:24 pm

Real Madrid have reached the Copa del Rey ultimate for the primary time since 2014 after overturning a 1-0 first leg defeat to beat Barcelona 4-0 on the Spotify Camp Nou and run out 4-1 combination winners within the Copa del Rey semi-final.

The victory got here courtesy of objectives from Vinícius Júnior and a Karim Benzema hat-trick after a hard-fought first 45 minutes had the sport degree going into damage time of the primary half.

Here are 5 stats that assist us to know the sport.

2: The variety of Real Madrid gamers to attain a hat-trick at Camp Nou, together with Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema’s hat-trick, his first towards Barcelona on his forty third Clásico look, has firmly written his names into the historical past books of Real Madrid and this fixture. He turned the primary Real Madrid participant since Ferenc Púskas on January twenty seventh 1963 to attain a Clásico hat-trick at Camp Nou and solely the second in historical past.

What’s extra, solely two different males have scored hat-tricks at Camp Nou towards Barcelona this century, Diego Forlán in 2005 and Kylian Mbappé in 2021. Benzema has now joined that membership with three massively vital objectives.

Coming after the 6-0 win over Real Valladolid, Benzema additionally recorded hat-tricks in consecutive video games. It’s the primary time he has recorded that feat, having gone shut in December 2015 when he scored three towards Malmö after which three towards Rayo Vallecano 12 days later.

2013/14: Last time Real Madrid reached the Copa del Rey ultimate

This outcome implies that Real Madrid will likely be within the Copa del Rey ultimate 9 years after their final one. This time they’ll tackle Osasuna on the Estadio de la Cartuja in May virtually a decade after beating this yr’s semi-final opponents, Barcelona, in 2014’s ultimate.

Of course, the person in cost for that ultimate, when Gareth Bale humiliated Marc Bartra down the touchline at Mestalla, was Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian was the final man to take Real Madrid to the ultimate stage of the competitors and since then, Rafa Benítez, Zinedine Zidane, Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari have all handed via the dugout with out with the ability to repeat that feat.

The final time there was such a protracted spell between two Copa del Rey ultimate appearances was between 1947 and 1958, when there was an 11-year hole. That was the one time within the membership’s historical past that the variety of years between ultimate appearances reached double figures.

1: Times that Real Madrid have misplaced after main at half-time on the Spotify Camp Nou

Vinícius Júnior’s aim couldn’t have at a greater time. The stats show as a lot because the aim on the stroke of half-time meant that Real Madrid went in on the break with the lead at Camp Nou. And that has a powerful precedent.

This was the 18th time that it has been the case, ending in 14 wins, three attracts and only one defeat, on March twenty seventh, 1966, when a 1-0 lead courtesy of a aim from Paco Gento at half-time was overturned to finish in a 2-1 victory for the house crew.

It additionally made the distinction on this event. Barcelona had arguably dominated the possibilities within the first interval, however within the second half they have been run ragged as the house crew needed to push for a aim and Real Madrid caught Barcelona clinically on the counter time and time once more.

Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

8: Tackles received by Eduardo Camavinga, twice as many as every other participant tried

A makeshift left-back he could also be, however Eduardo Camavinga produced a magisterial show on the left of the Real Madrid defence which continued to indicate him fully dominating opposition, whilst on this event he got here up towards a supposedly world class opponent.

Camavinga was concerned in eight tackles, profitable all eight, whereas the following highest on the pitch was Toni Kroos with 4 tried tackles. There was merely no evaluating the Frenchman to anyone else on the pitch.

His vitality and sophistication was decisive once more and Barcelona merely couldn’t get via in large areas, which means that their play was pushed via the center the place Real Madrid’s three in midfield might deal with the risk. Camavinga was key to that by blocking all the pieces that Raphinha tried down the Barcelona proper. He additionally had 66 touches, solely three fewer than Dani Carvajal and two fewer than Toni Kroos within the rankings.

10: Goals scored by Real Madrids in 4 days

With the beating of Valladolid and the rout at Camp Nou, Carlo Ancelotti has obtained Real Madrid firing on all cylinders. In 4 days, Real Madrid have scored as many objectives as they’d within the earlier 39. Over that interval, Real Madrid performed seven video games, relationship again to the 5 objectives scored towards Liverpool at Anfield within the Champions League.

Ancelotti has made tactical tweaks, with Rodrygo Goes incomes a beginning function on the suitable flank which shocked some as he retained it for this Clásico. Equally, Camavinga has moved to left-back and added dynamism and vitality, whereas a lot reward should additionally go to Karin Benzema for his unimaginable kind after an intense coaching regime via the worldwide break.

Ancelotti has obtained his crew enjoying unimaginable soccer at simply the suitable time. Villarreal, who go to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday, are usually not straightforward to interrupt down, after which it’s Chelsea’s flip to go to the Spanish capital. Keeping up this fee of goalscoring could possibly be decisive on two totally different fronts, with the LaLiga title race feeling extra alive after this historic Clásico.

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