Real Sociedad and their supporters let their emotions run wild after overcoming Atletico Madrid on penalties to win the Copa del Rey in Seville.
Ander Barrenetxea’s quickfire goal inside 14 seconds set them on their way but Atletico twice came back to level things up at 2-2, setting up a shootout where La Real goalkeeper Unai Marrero made two crucial saves, setting up team-mate Pablo Marin to convert the winner.
The Basque side went ahead in the blink of an eye when a dozing Atletico defence missed a long ball forward, Gonzalo Guedes crossed from deep and Ander Barrenetxea headed the fastest goal in a final in the Copa’s 124-year history.
Atletico were level on 18 minutes when MLS-bound Antoine Griezmann squared to Ademola Lookman, who shifted the ball to make space and slide a low left-footed shot across from 15 yards inside the far post.
The game then settled down into a more tense battle until just before half-time when Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso came for a free kick but Guedes got to the ball first and was flattened.
La Real captain Mikel Oyarzabal nervelessly netted from the spot to make it 2-1, and there were huge roars from the Basque side’s fans as the teams left the pitch at the break.
Atletico dominated possession for much of the second half but were unable to create may clear chances until the coolest man in the stadium, Julian Alvarez, cleverly allowed a Thiago Almada pass to run across his body and then smacked an unstoppable left-footer from the edge of the area.
Coach Diego Simeone sprinted from his bench to take part in the celebrations in the corner, and Atletico had chances to win it in normal time but Alvarez, Jonny Cardoso and Alex Baena were unable to take them.
Alvarez came closest to a spectacular winner with a 30-yard swerver that hit the angle of post and bar, while Musso made a double save from Luka Sucic and Orri Oskarsson.
And so it went to penalties. La Real’s Copa goalkeeper Marrero made fine saves from both Alexander Sorloth and Alvarez, but Musso also stopped from La Real’s Oskarsson to keep his team’s hopes alive.
The decisive kick went to La Real midfielder Marin, who nervelessly slammed his spot kick high to Musso’s right to spark enormous celebrations on the pitch and in the stands.
Real Sociedad celebrate with the Copa del Rey trophy (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)
La Real fans drink in the moment as Mattarazzo goes where no American-born coach has gone before
In April 2021, Real Sociedad won their first big trophy in over three decades, beating their Basque rivals Athletic Club of Bilbao 1-0 in the 2020 Copa del Rey final. Yet it was quite a soulless occasion played at an empty stadium without fans due to the covid pandemic.
This time around, when Oyarzabal lifted the trophy, the La Real captain was able to proudly hoist it into the air, sharing the moment with the more than 30,000 Txuri-Urdin fans in the stadium, who had found all kinds of ways to get to Seville for the game.
There were over two dozen charter flights from the Basque Country to Andalusia this week, as well as a special train making the approximately 1,000km journey from San Sebastian on the Bay of Biscay to Sevilla near the Mediterranean. One fan went viral for making a 10-day journey by bicycle to make the game.
Another sign of the depth of feeling around this final came pre-game when La Real supporters unveiled a Tifo in their end of the stadium featuring a photo of Aitor Zabaleta, a supporter who was killed outside Atletico’s old Vicente Calderon Stadium in 1998.
Zuregatik egin dezagun, Aitor. Gaur, inoiz baino gehiago. Beti gogoan.#GUazenREALA pic.twitter.com/Io1r3w5aeZ
— Real Sociedad Fútbol (@RealSociedad) April 18, 2026
After Oyarzabal received the Copa trophy from Spain’s King Felipe VI (himself a big Atletico fan), he and the team went back to celebrate with their supporters. Atletico’s fans and players had made themselves scarce by this stage but La Real all stayed — first to dance to ‘Freed from Desire’, then to link arms and sway as the club’s hymn was sung acapella by players and fans.
La Real, as a club, are really proud of their local core but they are also open to different ideas — and it was fitting that the shoot-out heroes were Guipuzcoan kids Marin and Marrero, while their coach Pellegrino Mattarazzo became the first US-born manager to win a trophy in a top European league just four months after arriving in La Liga. Everyone in blue and white was singing together long into the night in Seville.
Atletico run out of steam — but bigger prizes await
La Real had eight days since Friday’s 3-3 La Liga draw with Alaves to prepare and focus for this game, while Atletico made a huge physical and emotional effort to progress past Barcelona into the Champions League semi-finals last Tuesday.
At various moments over the 120 minutes, Simeone’s side looked short on energy and ideas, and it seemed this was a game too far for them.
Atletico will not have been happy at all with their first-half performance, first giving up such a sloppy (from their point of view) early goal, then conceding a very avoidable penalty from Musso’s mistake.
But they did show character to keep coming back — their first equaliser was really well constructed by Griezmann and finished by Lookman, while Alvarez showed his tremendous quality and mentality with an absolute belter to make it 2-2 late in normal time.
With Atletico’s La Liga chances long gone, Simeone has been focusing on the cups for over a month now. But the defeat to La Real means Atletico have lost six of their last seven games across all competitions — the only win being 2-0 at Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid missed out on the chance to claim a trophy they haven’t won since 2013 (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)
Next up for Simeone’s side is two La Liga outings, at Elche next Wednesday, and at home to Athletic Club on Saturday. Then they host Arsenal in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Estadio Metropolitano on Wednesday, April 29.
Simeone is sure to rotate really heavily against Elche and Athletic to prepare his best XI for the Arsenal matches — and midfielders Pablo Barrios and Cardoso, and defender David Hancko, should be all available to start by then too.
Atletico and their fans would have really celebrated this Copa del Rey, having not won the trophy since 2013. But they have never won a European Cup or Champions League, so their biggest target is still to come.
Mikel Oyarzabal: The man for all finals
By coolly converting from the spot before half-time, Oyarzabal became the first player ever to convert penalties in two different finals in the history of the Copa del Rey.
The club captain proved again on Saturday night that he always makes his mark on every final that he plays in.
He has also already scored in four different finals for Spain — most crucially the late winner against England in the Euro 2024 decider — while he has also netted for La Roja in Nations League finals against France in 2021 and Portugal in 2025. And for Spain’s Under-23 team in the Olympic Games 2020 final decider in Tokyo against Brazil.
Mikel Oyarzabal safely carries the Copa del Rey trophy (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
During this Copa run, Oyarzabal also scored from the spot in the semi-final second leg at Athletic Club of Bilbao to ensure La Real progressed – although he missed one in the quarter-final at Osasuna.
When required, it was La Real’s usual second-choice goalkeeper Marrero who came to the fore, given his chance due to a policy of rotating between the posts in cup competitions. Marrero also made a crucial save from Osasuna’s Jon Moncayola in a shootout in the last 16. His save from Alvarez in the final was tremendous, throwing himself to his left and getting both hands to a powerful shot from the Argentine star.
Marrero’s team-mates were happy to push him forward during the celebrations and he now goes into the club’s history books alongside the legendary Luis Arconada, hero of their penalty shootout win over Atletico in the 1987 Copa final.
⭐️ La 𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗔 que nos ha protegido.
Histórico, Marre. pic.twitter.com/3CgUDfNQHf
— Real Sociedad Fútbol (@RealSociedad) April 19, 2026
What did Diego Simeone say?
“We did not start the game very well but from minute 15, we improved with more intensity, better link-up play, more depth in our play. And the goal came through that.
“But then again, they were more intense than us for a period and got the second goal. The second half ,we played as we wanted to play, made it 2-2, and had the chances from Johnny and Baena, but the ball did not want to go in. Julian hit the crossbar in extra time and Musso made a good save. We competed very well, gave everything absolutely that we had, but unfortunately, the penalties went for them, so we congratulate them.
“We played 90 minutes against Barcelona four days ago, so it is normal that there was a drop off during extra-time, but we also did very well during that period. Apart from the first 10 minutes, the team gave absolutely everything they had.”
“I’m not thinking about Arsenal. I’m hurting a lot. We needed to win, and we could not do it. We gave everything, so I’m not worried.”
What did Pellegrino Mattarazzo say?
“It was important for us to control the match as best we can. We took a bit less risk in attack, so as not to allow too many counter-attacks from Lookman and Simeone.
“We had to defend with 11 men in all phases of the game. We had to suffer.It was not perfect, especially in the second half ,but the ability to come back into games, to regain strength, is what we saw in overtime.
“We had a moment to breathe and regain energy, we started to press higher again and stabilise our own performance. In the end, it was the character of the team which made it so special.
“The victory comes from the daily work and the commitment that we all have for this team, for this club. That is everyone involved: the entire staff, every player, leadership and the fans. Look how many fans supported us these days and weeks. It’s been an unbelievable journey. My feeling is it could be just the beginning.
“It’s the first (big European trophy) for an Italian-American. Winning this first title shows more than some other jobs, where you have done very well. But the context was different. We have fantastic players; unbelievable players with unbelievable character. The staff did good work but the players are on the pitch doing this against very good opponents. I’m very happy.”
