International press unanimous in praise of Barcelona’s double feat

The world press are bowing down before Barcelona after the conquest of the Copa del Rey in an epic, hard-fought match against Sevilla. «Barça, champion of champions. The Azulgranas, playing with ten men for an hour, hold off a competitive Sevilla side and lift their 28th Copa», says ‘El País’. «With the Copa, Barcelona seal their most nail-biting double. After being a man down for an hour, Jordi Alba and  Neymar win the Copa and the double for the Azulgranas in extra time. Messi inspired the win along with Iniesta and Piqué«, writes ‘El Mundo’.

The Catalan press was euphoric. «Heroes! Copa and double winners! Barça beat Sevilla in thrilling Copa final to secure double», was what ‘Sport’ had to say. «Heroic Copa and double! Epic! A Jordi Alba extra-time goal and another from Neymar late on were the rewards for a great performance from the Azulgrana team, who played with ten men for 55 minutes», reported ‘Mundo Deportivo’. Elsewhere in the national press, the headline in ‘SuperDeporte’ made an apparent reference to the controversy in last week’s Europa League final in which Sevilla beat Liverpool: «Sevilla did not get enough help this time.»

Internationally, the Argentinian sports daily ‘Olé’ was the one to give most coverage to Barça’s triumph: «Dynasty! With two assists from Messi, Barcelona beat Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final and reached the objective they had set themselves after getting knocked out of the Champions League: to win the double again.» In France, L’Équipe headlined «Barça tough it out», while in Italy, ‘La Gazzettta dello Sport’ spoke of «Barça’s latest trophy: Sevilla KO’d in extra time.» In England, most of the press spoke of the win and of the goal scorers. «Alba and Neymar win Copa del Rey final in extra time», headlined ‘The Guardian’.