{"id":6159,"date":"2026-04-19T09:36:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/19\/real-sociedad-upset-atletico-madrid-to-clinch-fourth-copa-del-rey-title\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T09:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:36:14","slug":"real-sociedad-upset-atletico-madrid-to-clinch-fourth-copa-del-rey-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/19\/real-sociedad-upset-atletico-madrid-to-clinch-fourth-copa-del-rey-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Sociedad upset Atletico Madrid to clinch fourth Copa del Rey title"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>Real win the final of Spain\u2019s premier annual knockout football competition with a dramatic penalty shootout in Seville.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Real Sociedad beat Atletico Madrid 4-3 on \u2060penalties to win the Copa \u2060del Rey on Saturday following a 2-2 draw after extra time, with goalkeeper Unai Marrero saving two spot kicks in the shootout to help his side win the trophy for the fourth time.<\/p>\n<p>Sociedad last won the Cup in 2021, when the \u2060delayed 2020 final was also played at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville, but there were no supporters present due to the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/18\/manchester-united-beat-chelsea-as-cunha-strike-boosts-champions-league-hope\">Manchester United beat Chelsea as Cunha strike boosts Champions League hope<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/18\/man-city-vs-arsenal-all-you-need-to-know-about-title-showdown\">As Arsenal and Man City battle, could the Premier League end in a playoff?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/17\/world-cup-2026-fifa-chief-infantino-defends-pricing-and-tickets-in-us\">Infantino defends World Cup pricing in \u2018very special\u2019 US market<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>This time, the Basque side\u2019s fans were behind the goal to witness Marrero save Atletico\u2019s first two penalties from Alexander Sorloth and Julian Alvarez.<\/p>\n<p>Atletico keeper Juan Musso then \u2060stopped Orri Oskarsson\u2019s kick, but Pablo Marin kept his nerve to net the winning penalty.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI tried to clear my mind. Calm and serene,\u201d Marin told RTVE. \u201cReal is my life. I\u2019ve lived here since I was a child. This is the greatest thing I could ever dream of \u2013 winning a title with the team of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The last time the two sides met in the final was 1987, when it also finished 2-2 with Sociedad coming out on top on penalties, \u200cand they repeated the job to deny Atletico, who were looking for their first Copa del Rey win since 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Ander Barrenetxea had given Sociedad the lead after 14 seconds, but Ademola Lookman levelled in the 19th minute. Mikel Oyarzabal then put the Basque side back in front with a penalty on the stroke of halftime.<\/p>\n<p>Alvarez drew Atletico level, with seven minutes remaining, to force the extra period in a dramatic final.<\/p>\n<p>Diego Simeone\u2019s Atletico were fresh from reaching the Champions League semifinals, but Sociedad, managed by American Pellegrino Matarazzo, triumphed despite twice losing the lead.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4503832\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4503832\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26108751926923-1776566529.jpg?resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Julian Alvarez in action.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4503832\">Atletico Madrid\u2019s forward Julian Alvarez, right, scores his side\u2019s second goal in the 83rd minute to level the final at 2-2 [Jose Breton\/AP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"fast-start\">Fast start<\/h2>\n<p>Sociedad stunned Atletico from the start. After a punt downfield from Marrero, Goncalo Guedes crossed into the box, and Barrenetxea rose above his marker to send a \u2060looping header beyond Musso.<\/p>\n<p>Atletico levelled with Lookman collecting a pass from Antoine Griezmann and sending a precise low strike \u2060through the legs of a defender and into the far bottom corner.<\/p>\n<p>Some Sociedad fans were celebrating, as they thought their side had retaken the lead when Guedes\u2019s deflected shot flew into the side netting, but when Musso later fouled Guedes, captain Oyarzabal converted the penalty in first-half added time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never walked on water, but it must feel something like this,\u201d said \u2060Oyarzabal, who scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot when his side won their last Copa.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4503835\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4503835\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AFP__20260418__A8B33TR__v1__HighRes__FblEspCupAtleticoMadridRealSociedad-1776566764.jpg?resize=770%2C515&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Julian Alvarez in ction.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4503835\">Real Sociedad\u2019s goalkeeper, Unai Marrero, right, deflects the ball by Alvarez during the penalty shootout [Thomas Coex\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"late-drama\">Late drama<\/h2>\n<p>Sociedad looked like hanging on until Alvarez struck an unstoppable shot from just inside the area, letting Thiago \u2060Almada\u2019s pass through his legs before turning to send the ball into the top corner.<\/p>\n<p>In the \u2060opening period of extra time, Musso pulled off a double-save from Luka Sucic and Oskarsson, with Alvarez hitting the upright at the other end, as both sides created chances before running out of steam, and penalties beckoned.<\/p>\n<p>Marrero danced across his line as the Atletico players lined up their penalties, and his mind games paid off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew that if it went to penalties, I had \u200ca lot of confidence in myself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe team and the fans did, too. I still can\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matarazzo has worked a remarkable turnaround at Sociedad since taking over in December, with the club hovering above the relegation zone but now seventh in the standings and, even more importantly, with \u200ca \u200ctrophy to show for their work.<\/p>\n<p>Simeone\u2019s Atletico have one final chance of silverware, with a last-four meeting against Arsenal in the Champions League.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a beautiful challenge ahead of us. We want the Champions League, and we\u2019ll do everything possible to win it,\u201d Atletico captain Koke said. \u201cBut tonight is a sad night.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4503826\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4503826\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-18T220735Z_908704804_UP1EM4I1PGM48_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-SPAIN-ATM-RSO-1776566232.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C481&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Pablo Mar\u00edn in action.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4503826\">Real Sociedad\u2019s Marin scores the winning penalty during the shootout [Marcelo Del Pozo\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Real win the final of Spain\u2019s premier annual knockout football competition with a dramatic penalty shootout in Seville. Real Sociedad beat Atletico Madrid 4-3 on \u2060penalties to win the Copa \u2060del Rey on Saturday following a 2-2 draw after extra time, with goalkeeper Unai Marrero saving two spot kicks in the shootout to help his &#8230; <a title=\"Real Sociedad upset Atletico Madrid to clinch fourth Copa del Rey title\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/19\/real-sociedad-upset-atletico-madrid-to-clinch-fourth-copa-del-rey-title\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Real Sociedad upset Atletico Madrid to clinch fourth Copa del Rey title\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}