
By The Numbers: FC Barcelona's 2–0 Copa del Rey Victory Over Sevilla
The most prolific champion of the Spanish Cup have won it for the 28th time. Goals from Jordi Alba and Neymar handed Barça a 2–0 win over Sevilla in Sunday's Copa del Rey final. This latest achievement has yielded a plethora of interesting facts and figures.
Since Luis Enrique became the FC Barcelona manager in the summer of 2015, the team is undefeated in the Copa del Rey, giving them back-to-back titles. In 18 Cup matches under Luis Enrique they have 16 wins and two draws, with 61 goals for and just 11 against. The only teams with longer unbeaten streaks in the tournament are Atlético Madrid's 24, between 1978 and 1981, and Athletic Club's 26, during the 1930s.
Lionel Messi assisted both blaugrana goals and was instrumental in Sunday's triumph over Sevilla. In fact, it's the first time Messi has had two assists in a final.
Jordi Alba, who scored the eventual game-winner in minute 97, chose the perfect time to score his first goal of the season.
With the win against Sevilla, Barça close out the 2015/16 season with six consecutive victories, and a domestic double. Even more impressive, they outscored opponents 26–0 in those last six games.
Neymar's goal that made it 2-0 in the 122nd minute not only sealed the victory, but it also made him the first player to score in two consecutive Cup finals since 1971/72, when Óscar Valdez did so with Valencia.
Javier Mascherano's red card against Sevilla — which put Barça down one man for the ensuing 60 minutes, was the team's second this season. The other, curiously, was also for Mascherano, and came against Eibarin La Liga.
Barça captain Andrés Iniesta, who was named MVP of the final, was tasked with raising the 28th Cup in team history. He was brilliant after Barça went down a man and his 50 completed passes were a game-high. Defensively, he recovered eight balls and blocked six others.
Offense wins games, but defence wins championships. While goalkeeping was no doubt key to keeping a clean sheet, defenders Gerard Piqué and Jérémy Mathieu also came up big. Piqué had 14 ball recoveries and 27 blocks, while the Frenchman recovered 6 balls and had 11 blocks.
Ter Stegen and his Sevilla counterpart, Sergio Rico, were both brilliant. Rico had eight stops to prevented Barça from scoring well before they finally did. Ter Stegen, meanwhile, was instrumental in the triumph, making sublime saves on Banega and Escudero.
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