The Copa del Rey final was staged as scheduled in the early hours of Sunday morning, with Real Betis taking on Valencia.
In normal time, the two sides drew 1-1 and the match went into a penalty shootout. In the end, Real Betis defeated Valencia 5-4 to lift the 21-22 Copa del Rey.
This season's Copa del Rey, in the round of 16 knockout rounds, has been a cold one. Barca and Atletico, defeated Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad respectively, last season's Copa del Rey champions Barca and La Liga champions Atletico Atletico, fell on the door of the round of 16.
Real Madrid also lost 1-2 to Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals. The exit of a large number of giants has made some small and medium-sized teams also see the hope of "upset counterattack".
Real Betis were eliminated in quick succession to Sevilla, with Real Sociedad and Rayo Vallecano reaching the final. According to statistics, this is the third Copa del Rey title in the history of The Royal Betis, and the last time they won the title was in the 2004-05 season.
The caddy who was still waving the flag on the sidelines is now Miranda, who has scored key penalties.
In the Real Betis squad, 40-year-old and 276-day Spanish veteran Joaquin, as the oldest player, played in the Copa del Rey final, and led the team to win the Copa del Rey championship for the second time, the first person in team history!
How important is this title for Real Betis? Real Betis has only 1 top-flight title, 3 Copa del Rey and 7 La Liga titles.
Joaquin's two Copa del Rey titles are already half of the glory of Real Betis.
Joaquin debuted in the youth academy of Real Betis, playing for Real Betis, Valencia, Malaga, Fiorentina, and has been playing for Real Betis since returning to Real Betis in the summer of 2015.
Espanyol played 807 games in his career, scoring 108 goals and giving 101 assists. He also scored four goals in 52 appearances for the Spanish national team.
The day after the victory, the whole of Betis took the Copa del Rey to a parade of winning floats in the city of Seville.
Joaquin, 40, said excitedly:
"There is still a long way to go, and our work has paid off. The Copa del Rey champion is here! Long live Royal Betis! ”
"We've started to win trophies, am I leaving now? Maybe it would ruin some of my other plans, but I'm announcing now that I'm going to continue playing at Real Betis for another year! ”
Joaquin is thinking of defending the Copa del Rey next year!