In the second leg, the Madrid club lost to their arch-rivals. Karim Benzema's hat-trick sent them into the Copa del Rey final with a 4-0 win at Camp Nou on Wednesday.
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Real overcame the hurdle of the semi-final with 4-1 goals in the lead of two legs. Real won against Barca after losing three matches in a row this year. Carlo Ancelotti's side got Osasuna in the title decider.
Vinicius Junior in the first half and Benzema netted three times in the last 45 minutes. A few days ago, the French forward scored a hat-trick in 7 minutes against Villarreal in La Liga.
Barca dominated the first half. But Thibaut Courtois was unstoppable in goal. In this opportunity, Real made it 1-0 just before the break from the counter attack. Vinicius flicked on Marc Andre ter Stegen from Benzema's cutback.
Benzema scored two goals in 8 minutes in the second half. In the 50th minute, he took the lead in the two-leg game from Luka Modric's pass. Frank Casey fouled Vinicius in the box and Real got a penalty. Benzema made the gap 3-0 with a right foot shot in the 58th minute. After that, the French forward shook the net after getting Ter Stegen alone in the 80th minute from the clever pass of Vinicius.
It was Benzema's ninth hat-trick since joining the Santiago Bernabeu club and his first at the Nou Camp since Ferenc Puskas in 1963.
This win kept Real's hopes of winning the double title alive. On the other hand, despite losing the Copa del Rey, Barca is leading the La Liga table by 12 points. After 2019, they have the opportunity to become champions in Spain's top competition.
Meanwhile, before the start of this match, the Nou Camp became agitated demanding the return of Lionel Messi. Barca fans chanted Messi Messi in 10 minutes. The Argentine forward's contract with PSG expires this June. The Catalans have the opportunity to bring him back as a free agent. But before that, the problem of financial crisis has to be solved. A few days ago, the vice president confirmed that they are in contact with Messi's return.
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