A late strike from Gareth Bale has given Real Madrid their 19th Copa del Rey success as they beat Barcelona 2-1 in the final at the Mestalla this evening.
Bale posed an early threat for Real, as he drilled the ball just wide before forcing a corner with another effort inside the opening 10 minutes.
It did not take long for Los Blancos to edge ahead though, as Karim Benzema played the ball forward for Angel di Maria, who sent in a low strike for the opening goal of the match.
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Barcelona believed that they should have had a penalty when Neymar tangled with Fabio Coentrao inside the box, but the referee was not interested, leading to an altercation between both sets of players.
Lionel Messi had a good chance shortly before the half-time whistle, but he mishit the ball from the edge of the box, failing to trouble Iker Casillas.
Bale continued to look lively after the break, playing his way into the box inside the opening five minutes before tapping just wide.
The Welshman eventually found the back of the net with just over 20 minutes left to go, but his goal was disallowed for a foul in the buildup.
Barcelona immediately capitalised on their opponents' error, with Marc Bartra heading in at the other end just moments after Bale's effort was ruled out.
The equaliser seemed to lift Barca as full time approached as Messi created a chance for Pedro, but Pepe was able to clear the danger for Real.
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It looked like the match would be heading for extra time until Bale made a blistering run down the left side before beating Bartra on the edge of the box to squeeze the ball into the bottom corner.
Neymar almost got Barcelona back into the tie in the final moments, smashing the ball towards the Real goal, but his shot was kept out by the post.
Sian Cowper
