Three stats from Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Osasuna to win the Copa del Rey

Real Madrid sealed the Copa del Rey title to make it their third trophy of the 2022/23 campaign, adding to the European Super Cup and Club World Cup, as they saw off Osasuna with a 2-1 win.

Rodrygo Goes set Los Blancos on path to victory as he scored within the opening two minutes and Real Madrid looked to be very comfortable throughout the first half. However, a Lucas Torró shot from the edge of the box in the second half levelled the tie and another Rodrygo intervention, this time at the far post, was needed to win the game.

Here are three stats that help us to explain the importance of the win and the game itself.

20: Copa del Rey titles in Real Madrid’s history

This title means more than just a one-off win as it takes Real Madrid to 20 Copa del Rey titles in its history, behind only Athletic Club on 23 and Barcelona on 31. It is the third since the new millennium, adding to the titles won in 2011 and 2014.

Coming 118 years after the club won it’s first Copa del Rey title in 1905, Real Madrid have come some way since Manuel Pratt scored a second-half winner against Athletic Club at the Campo del Retiro in the third edition of the tournament.

Importantly, it also ends a drought for Real Madrid. It had been nine years since Real Madrid last won the title, back in 2014 when Carlo Ancelotti got his hands on his first silverware as coach of Los Blancos courtesy of Gareth Bale’s winner against Barcelona at Mestalla.

Coming in Real Madrid’s 40th Copa del Rey final, it gives them a 50% win rate in the final, with the club having lost more Copa del Rey finals than any other team. Fortunately for Madridistas, they avoided that fate against Osasuna.

It was also special as it was the first win in a Copa del Rey final in a stadium other than Mestalla in Valencia since 1989, and the first against a side other than Barcelona since 1993 when Real Zaragoza were the opponents.

On a big night for Osasuna, they couldn’t seal their first Copa del Rey title. They join Sporting Gijón, Getafe and Real Valladolid in having played in two Copa del Rey finals and lost them both after they were previously beaten by Real Betis in 2005.

106: Seconds it took for Rodrygo Goes to give Real Madrid the lead

Carlo Ancelotti spoke before this game about the fact that there was no need to give his players any extra push or motivation ahead of an occasion like a Copa del Rey final. That seemed to be particularly true for Rodrygo Goes, who scored after just 106 seconds.

That made his strike, coming from some brilliant work from Vinícius Júnior down the left flank, the quickest in a Copa del Rey final since Raúl Tamudo scored after 87 seconds for Espanyol against Real Zaragoza at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on the way to a 4-1 win.

For Real Madrid, you’d have to go back to 1946, when there was a goal in the second minute from Sabino Barinaga in the Copa del Generalísimo, as it was then known, in a 3-1 win against Valencia at the Estadio de Montjuic.

Equally, by adding a second, Rodrygo became the first man since Juanito in 1980 to score two for Real Madrid in a Copa del Rey final. On that occasion, Juanito managed it against Real Madrid Castilla.

The Brazilian enjoyed a magnificent night as the RBV trident truly came of age, with Vinícius also working wonders in completely overcoming Jagoba Arrasate’s idea of playing midfielder Jon Moncayola at right-back to attempt to contain him.

With Vini claiming that assist, he took his total number of assists this season to 19, equalling Lionel Messi as the joint-second-highest number of assists from a player in Europe’s top five leagues across all competitions, behind only Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City on 24.

It was a curious combination which led to the goal as it was the first time since Edu Schmidt set up Ricardo Oliveira for Real Betis to open the scoring in 2005 that two Brazilians combined to create a goal in a Copa del Rey final. Betis’ opponents that night were also Osasuna.

5-3: Osasuna had more shots on target than Real Madrid

While Real Madrid looked comfortable for most of this match, this was not quite the easy win that some Madridistas were expecting it to be. Osasuna held their own and actually had more shots on target than Real Madrid.

In total, Real Madrid had more shots than Osasuna with 17 to 13, but Osasuna were more precise with their efforts. They recorded five shots on target, five off target and three blocked, while Real Madrid had only three on target, 10 off target and four blocked.

That also shows the cutting edge from Real Madrid. Three shots on target resulted in two goals with two very high quality chances for Rodrygo, while Karim Benzema also faced an impressive save from Sergio Herrera. Even of the 10 attempts off target, one included David Alaba’s rocket which hit the woodwork.

However, part of it could also be put down to Real Madrid’s offence being a little shot shy. Vinícius started off being more confident and trying some shots, but in the closing stages he twice found himself through on goal and instead overcomplicated matters, trying to beat one man too many or instead cut back to a runner from deep, rather than taking the easy option of a shot.