Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez combined to give Barça a much needed goal which was enough to make sure they play their 4th successive Copa Final.
After what seemed like a no way out, Messi like always took a few turns and a feint later he had passed 3 Atleti players as if they weren’t there. Although Miguel Moya did indeed block the initial shot after Messi’s dizzying run, all he could do was to deflect it to the right onto the path of the rushing Suarez.
And he with all the hunger that he displays throughout the matches he plays in made sure the ball lay in the back of the net seconds later. This helped break the momentum that the away team had created in a short while.
Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta said it seemed as though everyone had gone crazy at the end of Tuesday’s Copa Del Rey semifinal against Atletico Madrid.
Luis Enrique’s side squeezed into the final after a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou secured a 3-2 aggregate win.
Aside from the goals, there was a chaotic ending to the game as three players saw red cards — Sergi Roberto, Luis Suarez and Yannick Carrasco — and Kevin Gameiro missed a penalty as Atletico looked to force extra-time.
Messi himself could have had a goal when his free kick from 30 years rattled the lower side of the bar. No doubt who the best free kick taker in the world currently is. A goal would have surely sealed the match but instead it turned into a frantic effort from both teams to go all out for a win.
“In the end I always say the same thing, it was a team effort,” Iniesta said after returning from a calf injury as a second half substitute.
“It was a match which had everything. At the end it looked as though everybody had gone crazy!”
Barça will face Alaves or Celta Vigo in the final, but Iniesta does not have any preference as to which of those two sides it will be.
“Whichever team that goes through, we will have to respect them as we have respected everybody,” he added.
“We are going for our third straight Copa success.”
The club also made it clear that they will be appeal against the Suarez red card so that the striker is available for the final.
