Copa del Rey – Real Sociedad narrowly defeats Atletico Madrid on penalties to win their fourth title in club history.

In the 2025/26 Copa del Rey final, Real Sociedad faced Atletico Madrid at the Stadio Olimpico in Seville. They ultimately prevailed 4-3 on penalties, winning 6-5 on aggregate to claim their fourth Copa del Rey title.

Less than 15 seconds into the first half, Ander Barrenetxea headed in a cross from Gonzalo Guedes to break through Atletico Madrid's defense. However, Real Sociedad's lead lasted only 17 minutes: in the 18th minute, Antoine Griezmann crossed from the left, and Ademola Lookman fired a low shot into the net to pull one back for Real Sociedad.

Both sides then exchanged attacks but failed to score. Near the end of the first half, the situation took a dramatic turn: Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso rushed out of the penalty area and collided with Guedes, and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Mikel Oyarzabal converted the penalty, putting Real Sociedad ahead 2-1.

The second half began with both sides switching ends. In the 60th minute, Marcos Llorente made a high-speed run into the right side of the penalty area and delivered a cross, but Lookman's shot went over the crossbar. In the 63rd minute, Julian Alvarez unleashed a long-range shot from outside the penalty area, but it was successfully saved by Unai Marrero. With Real Sociedad seemingly just one step away from winning the title, Atletico Madrid pulled the suspense back before the final whistle: in the 83rd minute, Thiago Almada passed the ball to the left side of the penalty area, and Alvarez, after a slight adjustment, unleashed a powerful shot into the net to equalize again.

However, the emboldened Atletico Madrid then squandered several golden opportunities to win: in the 87th minute, Llorente broke down the right flank and delivered a brilliant pass, but Alex Baena's close-range shot went wildly over the bar. In the first minute of second-half stoppage time, Alvarez's lobbed pass from the edge of the box gave Johnny Cardoso a one-on-one chance against the goalkeeper, whose shot grazed the post. In the 100th minute of extra time, Alvarez's powerful shot from outside the box unfortunately struck the crossbar, forcing a penalty shootout to decide the winner.

In the first round of the penalty shootout, Alexander Thelot's penalty was saved by Marrero, but Carlos Soler then fired a low shot past Musso, making it 0-1. In the second round, Alvarez and Ori Oscarsen both missed their penalties, keeping the score at 0-1. In the third round, Nico González and Luca Sučić both converted their penalties, making it 1-2. In the fourth round, Almada and Ahern Muñoz both scored, making it 2-3. In the fifth round, Baena deceived Marrero and scored with a low shot into the bottom right corner, but Pablo Marin held his nerve and scored the crucial penalty, making it 3-4. Ultimately, Real Sociedad narrowly won the penalty shootout 6-5.

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