Benzema scores three goals in Camp Nou

Karim Benzema has scored a hat-trick two games in a row, carrying Real Madrid to the Copa del Rey final after demolishing Real Madrid’s fierce rival Barcelona.

On Thursday, Real Madrid beat Barcelona 4-0 in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final, advancing to the final by an aggregate score of 4-1. Last Monday, Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 1-0, but with their win on Thursday, Real Madrid reached the Copa del Rey final, with a 4-1 aggregate win, in nine years since 2014. Real Madrid will meet Osasuna in the final, battling for their 20th Copa del Rey. The team with the most wins in the Copa del Rey so far is FC Barcelona, with 31 titles.

Real Madrid, which had lost three straight matches in El Clasico to Barcelona, avenged those defeats with three goals in the second half of the game from Karim Benzema: the first one into the corner in 5 minutes, the second one from the edge of the penalty spot in 13 minutes, and the third one by completing a hat-trick with his right foot in 35 minutes.

Thursday’s hat-trick was Benzema’s second one in the space of four days and in two games in a row since Sunday when Real Madrid crushed Valladolid 6-0. Benzema has become the first Real player in 60 years to score a hat-trick against Barcelona at Camp Nou after Ferenc Puskas did the same in 1963. Benzema also became the first Real Madrid Player to score a hat-trick against Barcelona in 28 years since Ivan Zamorano in 1995.

Spanish media Football Espana reported that Barcelona fans chanted Lionel Messi’s name in the 10 minutes in the first half and 10 minutes in the second half during El Clasico, amid talk of the potential return of the football legend. Messi debuted for Barcelona in 2004; he played in Barcelona until June 2021 before transferring to Paris St. Germain in August 2021. In Barcelona, Messi played a total of 778 games, scored 672 goals, and had 269 assists. Messi’s possible return to Barcelona is expected as his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires in June.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com