Come Saturday, manager Luis Enrique will have the chance to end his coaching stint with the Catalan giants on a high if Barcelona can defeat Alaves in the final of the Copa del Rey (also known as King’s Cup) at the Vicente Calderon Stadium in Madrid.
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Enrique led Barca to only the club’s second ever treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey in his first season in charge and backed that up with a league and Cup double previous year.
Lionel Messi was the hero for Barcelona as the Argentinian scored one and provided assists for Neymar and Paco Alcacer.
Alaves provided stiff opposition for the majority of the first half, with teenager Theo Hernandez equalising with a sensational strike past Jasper Cillessen after Messi’s right footed opener struck from the edge of the box.
Just before the first half ended, Barca took control of the cup final.
The 47-year-old coach is preparing for his last match in the Barca dugout – Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against Alaves which is live on Sky Sports – after deciding to call time on his successful three-year spell at the Nou Camp.
With talk that the Argentina defender is set to leave Barcelona this summer after seven years at the club, it would represent a sad end to Mascherano’s trophy-filled time in Catalonia. They advanced after going 1-0 over Celta in the second leg. Barcelona’s path to the final left Hercules, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid all broken and beaten in Barca’s wake.
First, Messi found Gomes with a searching ball out wide and his low cross was tapped home from close range by Neymar.
Of course, Barcelona still have a lot of talent available to them, and this Copa del Rey Final is their match to lose.
This has not happened since Ferenc Puskas, who achieved the feat with Real Madrid between 1960 and 1962.
Victory would see Barca lift the Cup for the third straight season under Enrique, but unlike in the past two years it would be Barca’s only major silverware of the campaign.
Luis Enrique’s final trophy win came courtesy of another Lionel Messi masterclass, with the Argentine opening the scoring before playing huge parts in Barca’s two subsequent goals. They will play accordingly and try to avoid early goals, while scoring on the counterattack. This is by any standards a poor season for the former Spanish champions, but they can still salvage something.
“Nine trophies out of 13 is a pretty good record”.
“I sincerely think that the referees influenced the outcome of the title, but I won’t be drawing up a list to back myself up”, said Pique.
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We expect Barca to send Luis Enrique off in style and so we’re backing them to cover the -2 handicap.
