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Goals from Ousmane Dembele, Gerard Pique and Martin Braithwaite helped Barcelona complete a comeback victory over Sevilla on Wednesday.
The Blaugrana came into this clash on a two-goal deficit, having lost the first leg of their semi-final tie at the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan in February. However, they would have been buoyed by their 2-0 league victory against the same opponents on Saturday.
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman named an unchanged line-up from the side that picked up that win in Andalusia, with all 11 players retaining their positions in a 3-1-4-2 formation.
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Just like on Saturday, it was Dembele who opened the scoring. The France international had seen an attempted one-two with Lionel Messi intercepted. He then showed great skill and strength to hold off the challenges of three Sevilla defenders before finding the top corner with a stunning shot from 22 yards.
Both sides traded chances after this, with close calls recorded at both ends. It was, however, Barcelona who came closest to doubling their lead, with Lionel Messi's goal-bound shot cleared off the line, while Pedri shot wide from close range.
Nevertheless, neither team was able to find the back of the net to ensure that Barcelona went into the break one goal ahead.
Aleix Vidal suffered a hamstring injury at the start of the second half and had to be substituted soon after the ineffectual Luuk de Jong had also departed.
Jordi Alba saw a bicycle kick cannon off the crossbar after some excellent work by Ousmane Dembele.
Sevilla were awarded a penalty right after that, with referee Jose Maria Martinez pointing to the spot after substitute Lucas Ocampos was felled by Oscar Mingueza in the 70th minute.
Lionel Messi protested the decision heavily but the referee was having none of it and issued a yellow card to the Barcelona captain.
Ocampos dusted himself up to take the spot-kick but his effort was comfortably saved by Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. In all honesty, it was a terrible spot-kick by the Argentine, and his expression after the penalty said it all.
The final 15 minutes saw Barcelona asking all the questions. However, a typically resolute Sevilla defense kept them at bay.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the second minute of injury time after Fernando was shown a second booking for fouling Francisco Trincao.
Barcelona scored their second goal soon after. Lionel Messi sent in a corner kick that was not properly dealt with, and Diego Carlos inexplicably headed the ball into Griezmann's path rather than allow it to go out for another corner kick.
The France international did not need a second invitation to send a cross into the box. Gerard Pique then rose highest to force extra-time with virtually the last kick of the game.
Barcelona kept their momentum going in the extra 30 minutes and went ahead just five minutes into extra-time.
Jordi Alba sent a cross into the area, and Braithwaite attacked it with a header that went through the legs of Thomas Vaclik.
This gave the Catalans the advantage for the first time in the tie, and it was one they did not let go.
There were wild appeals from the visitors for a handball by Clement Lenglet but the VAR waved play on after a lengthy review. Gerard Pique also caused concern when he hobbled off with an apparent knee injury, but the World Cup winner finished the game.
The victory sees Barcelona qualify for the final of the Copa del Rey where they will take on one of either Athletic Bilbao or Levante.
Here are five talking points from the highly entertaining fixture.
#5 Lucas Ocampos' poor penalty costs Sevilla
Lucas Ocampos started the game on the bench for Sevilla but was introduced in place of Oliver Torres in the 62nd minute.
The Argentine winger is one of the most dynamic and influential players for Julen Lopetegui, and it took less than eight minutes for him to make a mark on the game.
Having won the penalty, the 26-year-old stepped up to take the spot-kick. Considering his pristine record from the spot this season, it was expected that he would at least test the Barcelona goalkeeper.
However, the former Monaco man produced a poor effort that was comfortably saved by Ter Stegen.
Had he scored, Sevilla would have reclaimed the initiative in the tie with a crucial away goal that would have all but guaranteed their spot in the final.
Unfortunately for the Andalusians, that failed to happen and they ultimately paid the price for their number 5's frugality.
#4 Barcelona keep title hopes alive
Barcelona have been poor throughout this season and currently face an uphill task to reclaim La Liga.
Their 4-1 trouncing by Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League also means that they are on the verge of elimination on the continent.
They came into this Copa del Rey second leg fixture on a two-goal deficit, and few would have given Ronald Koeman's side any chance of overturning it.
However, a comprehensive display, coupled with Pique's last-gasp strike, saw them live to fight another day in the competition.
The result drew shades of their quarter-final victory over Granada, where two late goals forced extra-time.
Having ended last season trophyless, it would have represented a major travesty for Barcelona to go two campaigns without a trophy. However, the Catalans turned the tie around to ensure that their quest for a record-extending 31st Copa del Rey title goes on.
#3 Martin Braithwaite gets his defining moment in a Barcelona shirt
Ever since he completed his controversial transfer from Leganes to Barcelona in February 2020, Martin Braithwaite has failed to truly ingratiate himself with the Blaugrana faithful.
The fact that the Denmark international is the only specialist center-forward in the current first-team is representative of everything that has been wrong with the club's transfer policies in the last few years.
Braithwaite is quite simply not at the level required at Barcelona. In many ways, the 29-year-old is very much out of his depth at Camp Nou.
It is not for want of trying though, and nobody can accuse the former Leganes man of not giving his optimum to the Barcelona cause.
Against Sevilla, Braithwaite finally had his watershed moment when he came off the bench to score the winning goal in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
The manner in which the goal came is guaranteed to grant him a special spot in the tales of great Camp Nou nights, with several generations describing how Barcelona surmounted all odds to dispatch an in-form Sevilla.
Martin Braithwaite made this possible.
#2 Should Sevilla have been awarded a second penalty?
Having missed the first spot-kick in regular time, Lucas Ocampos was again in the eye of the storm when his miscontrolled ball hit the arm of Clement Lenglet.
The Sevilla forward wasted little time in appealing for a second penalty and was soon joined by several of his teammates who surrounded the referee.
Juan Jordan was issued a yellow card in the ensuing melee while the match official waited for further directions from the VAR.
Lenglet's arm was clearly away from his body when the ball struck. Unlike in the Premier League where handball rules are rather vague, Spanish football is more stringent concerning handballs in the box.
However, after a lengthy review, the VAR decided to stick with the center referee after Ocampos was deemed to have raised a high boot in the build-up to the incident.
Whether the Sevilla man truly had a high boot remains open for further discussion. However, it cannot be argued that the Barcelona defender's offense was a much clearer infraction that might have been given on another day.
#1 How severe was Gerard Pique's discomfort?
Gerard Pique spent the best part of three months away from the field, having suffered an injury against Atletico Madrid last November.
The 33-year-old made a return to competitive action in February but it was less than stellar comeback as a Kylian Mbappe masterclass fired PSG to a 4-1 victory on the continent.
Since then, Pique has started four matches in succession for Barcelona but his most telling contribution of the season came in the return leg of the Copa semis.
Having come forward for a corner kick, the former Spain international remained behind and was on hand to convert Griezmann's perfectly weighted cross with the last kick of the game.
There was, however, a moment of concern in injury time as Pique hobbled off the field for treatment. He showed obvious signs of discomfort in his knee, where he was injured earlier in the season.
Despite seeing out the game, the Barcelona defender did not look entirely comfortable. Fans of the club will be hoping there is nothing seriously wrong with their star defender.
