It doesn’t get much better than that if you’re Madridista – to tarnish your archrival in El Clasico on their soil, leave them in the dust, thus reaching the cup final!Well, that’s precisely what Carlo Ancelotti’s side did on Wednesday night at Camp Nou, as they beat Barcelona 4-0 (1-0) in the return leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal. Karim Benzema’s hat-trick destroyed Barca and their hopes that were sky-high after the first leg 1-0 victory at Santiago Bernabeu.Karim Benzema!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my days!!!!! El Clasico hattrick!!!!!!!Barcelona 0-4 Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/u79SeHMrey— NaijaMadrid || 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 🤍🇳🇬 (@NaijaMadrid) April 5, 2023 The tie was decided in the span of no longer than 15 minutes at the end of the first half and the opening phase of the second, during which Real Madrid scored three goals. Albeit the final result suggests the visitors annihilated their nemesis, the story of this 254th El Clasico is a bit different.The opening stage of the match came straight out of the football playbooks, with quick and smooth build-ups on both ends and chances that could have easily broken the deadlock within the first 15 minutes.Gavi and Raphinha were close to scoring for the hosts, while Vinicius Jr. was a split second late to slot it in on the far post following Rodrygo’s perfect cross. On the other end, Alaba’s handball in the box was not rewarded as a penalty for the Blaugrana as the VAR review concluded he didn’t hit it intentionally but accidentally during his sliding tackle.##NAJAVA_MECA_7153435##The tempo, however, dropped a bit then, unlike tensions, as Gavi and Vinicius exchanged some unsportsmanlike punches. It propelled an intense battle on the pitch, with many elbows and harsh tackles, with Robert Lewandowski suffering a severe back injury after one duel. Barca already missed their injured chief operator Frenkie de Jong, just like Dembele on the wing, so Xavi found himself in a complicated position, especially in terms of only a few available attacking options.Karim Benzema is the first Real Madrid player to score a hat-trick against Barcelona in El Clasico since Ivan Zamorano in 1995 (!)Think about the players Madrid have had in the last 28 years. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/p27iBpOwvR— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 5, 2023 Still, they found themselves inches away from a 1-0 lead, with Lewa hitting it lovely at the beginning of the stoppage time, only to be denied by Courtois. The counter-attack unfolded, with Benzema and Vini storming into Ter Stegen’s area, as the latter fired from close range. Kounde’s unsuccessful clearance on the goal line meant it was a shocking 1-0 for the visitors.Barcelona 0 – 1 Real Madrid #ElClasico Vinicius Jr ⚽️watch the match live on the link in our biopic.twitter.com/x4KeoAfu5S— wilnyaf football (@wilnyaf_footy) April 5, 2023 What we didn’t know at that moment is that Madrid are preparing another shock almost instantly from locker rooms. Modric, the Croatian magician, got himself the ball on the right-hand side, not hesitating to take it to the middle before finding unmarked Benzema on the edge of the box, and the fantastic veteran once again proved he’s one of the best finishers in the world (2-0).⚽️ ¡¡¡GOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLL DE @Benzema!!! ¡¡¡MARCA el @realmadrid!!! Remate inapelable del 9⃣ blanco.🆚 @FCBarcelona_es | 0-2 | @realmadrid | 49’📺 @La1_tve | @vamos.#CopaDelRey | #LaCopaMola🏆 pic.twitter.com/g14Z0ztNW9— RFEF (@rfef) April 5, 2023 And that was just the prelude for the final, third shock – a penalty for Real Madrid only minutes later. Kessie made a fool of himself, taking down Vinicius in front of the referee, with Benzema placing it behind Ter Stegen from the spot for a 3-0 lead.Xavi and his squad were in complete shambles, no dilemma about it. He tried with several new faces on the pitch, but Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres couldn’t find enough space against the inspired and flawless Royals’ defence. Meanwhile, Benzema and Asensio could have even bag a few more, but it stayed 3-0 on the scoresheet for a while, before another counter launched Benzema straight into the history of El Clasico with this sensational hat-trick for a remarkable 4-0 win.BENZEMA HATTRICK!! BACK TO BACKpic.twitter.com/g7JWuLGHdv— Dr Yash (@YashRMFC) April 5, 2023 Real Madrid are still in contention for the cup trophy, the first one for the Madrid giants since 2014, when they defeated Barca. The last obstacle on their current road are underdogs of Osasuna, who topped Athletic Bilbao after extra time on Tuesday.COPA DEL REY – SemifinalSecond legBarcelona – Real Madrid 0-4 (0-1)/Vinicius Jr 45, Benzema 50, 58 pen, 80/Real Madrid win 4-1 on aggregate
