Back in the Final After 13 Years, but the Five-Year Title Drought Goes On — Copa del Rey Final, Sociedad Win on Penalties

A Dream Shattered at La Cartuja

Fourteen seconds. That was all it took for the fastest goal in Copa del Rey final history to ripple the net in front of roughly 70,000 spectators at La Cartuja. Atlético Madrid's first Copa final in 13 years could not have started worse.

Through April, Atlético had navigated a congested schedule by rotating between the Champions League and domestic fixtures. The approach paid off in Europe: a 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona secured a semi-final berth. Three consecutive Liga defeats came as a by-product, the cost of prioritising between competitions. This final represented the club's first shot at a major trophy since the 2021 Liga title. The scoreline told a story of resilience and regret in equal measure: 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2. Twice behind, twice level, 120 minutes fought to the bone, and then penalties. 3-4. A match Atlético could have won. A match Atlético should have won. Yet the trophy travelled to San Sebastián.

A Collapse at the Very Start

Goalkeeper Marrero's goal kick split the pitch in half. Gonçalo Guedes collected the ball in acres of space on the right flank. In the handful of seconds before that moment, Atlético's defensive structure had unravelled in sequence. Nahuel Molina watched the long ball sail over his head and did not move. Giuliano Simeone misjudged the bounce and failed to control. Marc Pubill closed down Guedes too casually, allowing time for a cross. Against that delivery, Matteo Ruggeri lost the aerial duel to Ander Barrenetxea. The header bounced towards goal, and Juan Musso stretched desperately but could not reach it. For a ball that carried relatively little pace, it was a goal that will haunt him.

The fastest goal in Copa del Rey final history, as recorded by Opta at 14 seconds. Behind that number lay a chain of individual failures: one man who did not move, one who misjudged, one who closed too slowly, one who lost the aerial battle, and one who could not get there. The preview had identified set-piece defending as the key vulnerability. What gave way instead was something more fundamental: a goalkeeper's long ball, and no one willing to put their body on the line.

Hitting Back, Then Falling Behind Again

On 18 minutes, Antoine Griezmann threaded a pass from outside the penalty area into the centre. Julián Álvarez let the ball run, and Ademola Lookman, stationed inside the box, struck a left-footed finish inside the far post. It was his seventh goal since joining Atlético in the winter window. The Nigerian international was once again the most dangerous player in red and white.

Having drawn level, Atlético took hold of the ball. Across the 120 minutes, they held 63% possession, completed 354 passes in the opposition half to Sociedad's 134, and registered 33 touches in the penalty area to Sociedad's 20. In terms of ball retention and territorial presence, Atlético held the upper hand.

Then, on 43 minutes, Musso charged out to challenge for a high ball and caught Guedes rather than the ball. A yellow card and a penalty. Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up. He stroked a left-footed kick into the bottom-left corner. The Guardian reported that Oyarzabal has scored in all six senior finals he has played. In the 2020 Copa final, he had converted the only goal from the spot against Athletic Club. At La Cartuja, he was the calmest man on the pitch. 1-2. Musso's foul had defined the shape of the first half.

A Different Team in the Second Half, Still One Goal Short

Atlético emerged from the interval transformed. "The second half was exactly how we needed to play," Simeone reflected afterwards. The catalyst was a wave of five substitutions rolled out between the 62nd and 78th minutes.

On 62 minutes, Lookman and Ruggeri came off together, replaced by Nicolás González and Alexander Sørloth. On 70 minutes, Griezmann made way for Thiago Almada and Giuliano Simeone for Álex Baena. At 78 minutes, Molina was replaced by Johnny Cardoso. With González deployed as a specialist left-back and Sørloth providing a target in the air up front, the second-half shape looked markedly different from what had gone before.

To this writer, Lookman's withdrawal at 62 minutes remains a point of contention. He had scored the only Atlético goal and was clearly the most threatening presence on the left, holding a qualitative edge over the opposing right-back. Simeone explained: "I felt that with Sørloth as the number nine we could create more chances, and that Julián could fill the role Lookman was playing." The logic is understandable. Still, Sørloth offered little visible impact, recording a FotMob rating of 5.9 and an ItC rating of 4.5, both among the team's lowest. In hindsight, keeping Lookman on the pitch a little longer looks like a path worth exploring.

Regardless, the second-half Atlético attacked with a different intensity. On 83 minutes, Almada's pass found Álvarez, who shifted the ball behind his body with his right foot, switched it to his left side, wrong-footed the covering defender, and lashed a left-footed strike into the top corner. The finest goal of the evening. 2-2.

What followed was a seven-minute onslaught. On 86 minutes, Llorente's cross found Baena from close range, but the shot sailed over the bar. On 89, a Sørloth header drifted just wide. On 90 minutes, Cardoso broke through on a pass from Álvarez and had a decisive chance, but the third goal would not come. In stoppage time, Álvarez's free kick hit the wall, and Llorente's follow-up flew wide. After the match, Simeone rued those moments. "The match should have been settled in 90 minutes. Baena's chance, Johnny's chance. They had the clinical edge and we didn't." Hard to disagree. The spell from the 83rd-minute equaliser through to the end of regulation was the period when Atlético pressed hardest. Failing to finish the job in that window decided everything.

The Price of Three Days' Rest and Fading Legs

Only three days separated the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Barcelona and this final. Sociedad, by contrast, had enjoyed roughly a week to prepare. It would have been no surprise to see that gap in freshness surface in extra time. Simeone himself acknowledged as much. "Having played 90 minutes against Barça four days ago, it's normal for the team to drop off in extra time. Even so, I think we did well."

Early in extra time, Sociedad found a second wind. On 97 minutes, Takefusa Kubo, introduced as a substitute on 88 minutes, set up Luka Sucic, whose left-footed strike was repelled by Musso. Orri Óskarsson pounced on the rebound with another left-footed effort, and Musso saved again. The goalkeeper who had been culpable for both first-half goals now produced a crucial double stop. Then, on 99 minutes, Álvarez latched onto a Koke pass and struck the crossbar. All of that compressed into a matter of minutes: the density of action captured the essence of the entire 120-minute contest.

Koke played the full 120 minutes. The only current player who was on the pitch when this club last lifted the Copa in 2013. Even deep into extra time, he remained involved in possession, reacted sharply in transition, and never stopped steadying those around him. It was his pass that created Álvarez's crossbar strike. His FotMob rating of 8.3 matched Álvarez as the team's highest. Into the Calderón called him "the orchestrator of a grueling 120 minutes."

The second period of extra time belonged to exhaustion. A Sørloth header drifted wide. Gorrotxategi and Elustondo collected yellow cards in quick succession. Neither side could summon the energy for a clear chance. The score stayed level, and the match went to penalties.

The Shootout

Atlético shot first. Sørloth, taking penalty number one, saw his left-footed effort saved by Marrero low to the right. Sociedad's Soler converted. 0-1. Álvarez was denied next, Marrero diving to his left. Musso stopped Óskarsson to keep Atlético alive, but from the third penalty onwards, every kick found the net. At 3-3, Sociedad's fifth taker, Pablo Marín, a 22-year-old who had come on in the 69th minute, hammered a right-footed penalty into the top-left corner. 3-4. Real Sociedad had won the Copa del Rey for the fourth time.

Marrero, 24, spoke afterwards. "I knew that if it came to penalties, I believed in myself, and my teammates and our fans believed in me. I still can't believe it. The boy who dreamed of this since he was young has fulfilled his dream." The same man had been the shootout hero after a 2-2 draw in the round of 16. On the biggest stage of all, he delivered once more.

Griezmann's Final Copa, Koke's Defiance

Griezmann left the pitch on 70 minutes. His assist for Lookman's equaliser on 18 minutes and his sharp touches in tight spaces showed that the quality remained. Yet the goals did not come. Five Copa goals across this tournament run had carried Atlético to this point; against his former club, the last Copa final of his career ended without a trophy. With his move to Orlando City confirmed, the Champions League semi-finals represent his remaining chance to lift silverware in Spain.

Koke absorbed the weight of a painful night. "The team did everything it could to turn this around. We were behind from the very start and did what we could. It's a difficult night. Thanks to all our fans who travelled with us." Then he added: "We want to win the Champions League. But tonight is a hard night. We'll have time to think about the Champions League."

Losing a final on penalties. How many times have Atlético fans watched this scene unfold? A hundred and twenty minutes of effort distilled into twelve yards. Were the penalties missed by Sørloth and Álvarez a matter of technique, or something deeper? There is no easy answer. What is hard to deny is that for anyone who follows this club, the ending felt like something that had been quietly feared all along.

"The Fans Need Wins, Not Messages"

In his post-match press conference, Simeone was asked to send a message to the supporters. His reply was brief. "The fans need wins, not messages. What's left is to work every day."

The numbers confirm that this was a match Atlético could have won. Non-penalty xG stood at 1.96 to 0.83. Big chances: 3-2 in Atlético's favour; big chances missed: 3-1. Possession reached 63%, with 33 touches in the opposition box against 20. Atlético held the ball, created openings, and generated chances they could not convert. On the other hand, shots on target read 4-6 in Sociedad's favour, and xGOT — the expected-goal value of shots on target — was 1.65 to 1.95 for Sociedad. Nineteen shots, only four on target. A lack of finishing precision was the primary reason a dominant 120-minute performance failed to yield victory.

Simeone continued: "First of all, congratulations to the opposition. They played the match they needed to. The second half was how we needed to play. We made it 2-2 and could have scored the third through Baena or Johnny, but the ball just wouldn't go in. The players gave everything. Unfortunately, the penalties went their way." He concluded: "I'm not thinking about Arsenal. This hurts a lot. We needed to win and we couldn't."

Atlético sit fourth in La Liga, 22 points behind leaders Barcelona. The only remaining path to a trophy this season runs through the Champions League semi-final against Arsenal. The first leg is on 29 April. The preview's verdict — "nothing other than the result matters" — was not fulfilled in the Copa final. Carrying that burden, Atlético return to the European stage.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Substitutes

※ ItC ratings from Into the Calderón; FotMob ratings from FotMob.