SEVILLE, Spain: Real Betis won the Spanish Copa del Rey on Saturday, beating Valencia 5-4 on penalties in Seville after a thrilling final finished 1-1 after extra time.
Valencia’s Yunus Musah blazed over in the shoot-out, allowing Juan Miranda the chance to score the winning penalty at La Cartuja as Betis claimed the fourth major trophy in the club’s 115-year history.
Borja Iglesias had headed Betis in front but Hugo Duro equalized for Valencia before half-time and neither side could find a winner, either in the second period or extra time.
But Musah’s error and Miranda’s cool head gave Betis the cup for a third time, in their home city, following the club’s two previous triumphs in 1977 and 2005.
Betis captain Joaquin hoisted the trophy after it was presented to him by the king of Spain, Felipe VI.
“I have tears of emotion, tears of joy,” said Joaquin. “It’s what we all wanted, to win a cup again, the Copa del Rey, as beautiful as we know it is.”
Joaquin, the 40-year-old winger, who made his debut for Betis aged 19 in 2000 and played in the final 17 years ago, came on in the 86th minute and scored a penalty. It remains to be seen whether he decides this is a fitting end now to what has been a remarkable career.
“I am going to enjoy the moment,” said Joaquin. “We are Copa del Rey champions and we dedicate this to all the people who have been with us — the coaching staff, masseurs, cooks, waiters — all those people whose work is not seen but deserve as much credit as us.”
Many had billed this as a clash of styles, with the swashbuckling approach of Betis tasked with breaking down the grit and resilience of Valencia, but in reality both teams contributed equally to an open and enthralling final.
“Football can be beautiful and it can also be cruel. It hurts,” said Valencia’s Jose Gaya.
It was only the second final in 14 years not to include any of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid and while Betis and Valencia are hardly minnows in Spain, there was no doubting the weight of the occasion for both clubs.
Valencia won the Copa del Rey in 2019, beating Barca in the final, but a fire-sale of key players under the controversial ownership of Peter Lim means the team have been more concerned about relegation in recent seasons than winning trophies.
Betis, meanwhile, have spent three seasons in the second tier since they last won it in 2005, the same year they finished fourth in La Liga, which they still hope to replicate this season but have never managed to repeat since.
Betis flew out of the blocks and took the lead in the 11th minute, a slick move down the right seeing Nabil Fekir slide through Hector Bellerin, who floated a superb cross into the area. Borja jumped high and headed straight, the power of the connection enough to beat Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Valencia were shaking and Betis kept coming. Borja headed just wide and then almost latched onto an underhit backpass by Mouctar Diakhaby, which needed Mamardashvili to scramble clear.
But the Betis assault subsided and in the 30th minute Valencia struck, a brilliant counter-attack giving them a foothold in the final. Carlos Soler steered a superb first-time pass from the right wing into central midfield, where Ilaix Moriba had space to advance.
Duro was racing away but the gap was tight, Moriba feathering the ball through for his teammate, who scooped a delightful finish into the net.
The second period grew increasingly frantic, an end-to-end contest bringing Betis back into the ascendancy. Borja’s effort was well blocked by Valencia’s Gabriel Paulista before Juanmi hit the post, his drive beating Mamardashvili but not the frame.
Fekir almost won it in the last 10 minutes but was denied by Mamardashvili’s legs while Soler had a chance in injury time after a misplaced pass by Bellerin but Claudio Bravo made the stop.
Joaquin had come on, a fairytale in his sights, but nobody could find a winner and the quality dropped in extra time as fatigue and cramp set in.
Soler and Uros Racic scored confident penalties for Valencia, matched by those of Willian Jose and Joaquin for Betis, even if Mamardashvili got a hand to Joaquin’s shot.
Goncalo Guedes and Andres Guardado made no mistake but Musah erred, firing over to let Betis in. Cristian Tello and Gaya both scored, leaving Miranda with the chance to win it. Mamardashvili jumped right, the ball went left.
Real Betis beat Valencia on penalties to win Copa del Rey
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Real Betis beat Valencia on penalties to win Copa del Rey

- It was only the second final in 14 years not to include any of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid and while Betis and Valencia are hardly minnows in Spain, there was no doubting the weight of the occasion for both clubs
Motor racing-Norris wins wet Miami sprint to trim Piastri’s lead by a point

MIAMI: Lando Norris won a crash-strewn and wet-to-dry Miami Grand Prix sprint race in a McLaren one-two on Saturday to cut teammate Oscar Piastri’s Formula One lead to nine points.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, winner of the season’s first sprint in China, finished third with the safety car leading the closing laps before peeling off at the end.
Atletico held at Alaves in dry Liga draw

- Diego Simeone’s side have little to play for in the final weeks of the season
- Alaves, however, moved provisionally 16th, three points clear of the relegation zone
VITORIA, Spain: Atletico Madrid were held to a dull 0-0 draw at relegation-battling Alaves on Saturday in La Liga.
Diego Simeone’s side have little to play for in the final weeks of the season, sitting third with Champions League qualification virtually assured and leaders Barcelona nine points ahead of them.
Alaves, however, moved provisionally 16th, three points clear of the relegation zone with an important point against their illustrious visitors.
Julian Alvarez was sent off in the only moment to get pulses racing in the first half when he connected high on Argentine compatriot Facundo Garces’ leg, but the referee downgraded his red card to yellow after a VAR review.
Simeone took off his son Giuliano and Antoine Griezmann as he looked for more energy, bringing on Samuel Lino and regular super-sub Alexander Sorloth.
Antonio Sivera saved a Lino long-range effort, Atletico’s first shot on target, with around 20 minutes remaining as what had been a soporific battle burst belatedly into life.
Jan Oblak made a superb low stop to thwart Kike Garcia from close range as Eduardo Caudet’s hosts almost found a way through.
Sivera clawed out a Clement Lenglet effort and Angel Correa could not convert at the end of a swift counter-attack as Atletico threatened but could not find a winner.
“Neither side could get the upper hand, either in possession or in attack, there were no shots in the first half — the game was played in the middle of the pitch without any danger,” admitted Simeone, who turned his attention to the Club World Cup this summer.
“We’ve earned (qualification) on our merit... the Club World Cup, a significant milestone for the last four years of work.”
Ayoze Perez struck twice for Villarreal as they beat Osasuna 4-2 to close in on Champions League qualification for next season.
The top five La Liga teams qualify and the Yellow Submarine are currently fifth, four points clear of Real Betis who visit Espanyol on Sunday.
Villa boost top five bid, Southampton beaten at Leicester

- Seventh-placed Villa extended their unbeaten run on home turf to 20 games in all competitions
- Emery said: “Today, we got more or less to be close to Europe. Wow, fantastic, brilliant”
LONDON: Unai Emery vowed Aston Villa will fight until the end for a place in the Champions League after boosting their bid with a 1-0 win against Fulham on Saturday.
Emery’s side are back in the hunt to finish in the Premier League’s top five thanks to Youri Tielemans’ 12th-minute header at Villa Park.
Seventh-placed Villa extended their unbeaten run on home turf to 20 games in all competitions, lifting them level with sixth-placed Nottingham Forest and fifth-placed Chelsea on 60 points.
After bouncing back from their dismal FA Cup semifinal loss to Crystal Palace last weekend, Villa will hope their rivals falter over the weekend as the top five race heads for a dramatic climax.
“If we weren’t winning today, forget it completely,” Emery said.
“Today, we got more or less to be close to Europe. Wow, fantastic, brilliant. The best gift we can achieve after it is the Europa League or Champions League.
“Champions League, okay. We are not favorites to get it because there is Nottingham Forest in front of us, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle.
“But we will fight for it, Europe, and hopefully we can fight for the Champions League.”
Southampton wasted a chance to avoid a share of the lowest points total in Premier League history as Jamie Vardy’s 199th Leicester goal inspired a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium.
Simon Rusk’s bottom of the table team are trying to avoid finishing with just 11 points — which would match Derby’s low mark set in 2007-08.
But Southampton’s hopes of getting a 12th point quickly faded against fellow relegated side Leicester.
After announcing last week that he will leave the club at the end of the season, the 38-year-old Vardy bagged a farewell goal as he put second-bottom Leicester ahead in the 17th minute.
The game was delayed for 11 minutes when referee David Webb was forced off with a head injury after colliding with Leicester’s Jordan Ayew.
Vardy cheekily blew the referee’s whistle while he was being treated.
Leicester finally won for the first time since January as Ayew grabbed the second goal in the 44th minute.
Southampton have now lost 28 of their 35 league games and have three matches left to avoid sharing the low points record with Derby.
Relegated Ipswich fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 in Everton’s penultimate match at Goodison Park.
Kieran McKenna’s third-bottom side trailed to Beto’s 26th minute goal and Dwight McNeil’s effort nine minutes later.
But Julio Enciso ‘s 30-yard rocket reduced the deficit in the 41st minute and George Hirst equalized with 11 minutes left.
Everton’s emotional last match at Goodison before moving to their new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium next season comes against Southampton on May 18.
Second-placed Arsenal host Bournemouth in Saturday’s late game as the Gunners warm up for their Champions League semifinal showdown with Paris Saint-Germain.
Mikel Arteta’s side lost 1-0 in the first leg on Tuesday and head to France for the second leg on Wednesday as they look to reach the final for the first time since 2006.
Leipzig put Bayern and Kane’s title party on ice

- Leroy Sane looked to have completed the comeback and clinch the title
- The result keeps Bayer Leverkusen’s slim chances of defending their Bundesliga title alive
MUNICH: Bayern Munich and Harry Kane’s German Bundesliga title party was delayed by at least a day after RB Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen scored a stoppage-time equalizer in a 3-3 home draw on Saturday.
With Kane sitting in the stands due to a yellow card suspension, Bayern fell two down by half-time, Leipzig scoring twice in teaming rain in Saxony through Benjamin Sesko and Lucas Klostermann.
Bayern then scored twice in 46 seconds through Eric Dier and Michael Olize to level things up with just under 30 minutes remaining.
Leroy Sane looked to have completed the comeback and clinch the title, hitting an unstoppable shot from the right of goal on the 83rd-minute mark.
But Poulsen, subbed on with 30 minutes to go, chipped the ball over Urbig in the fifth minute of stoppage time to snatch a draw.
The result keeps Bayer Leverkusen’s slim chances of defending their Bundesliga title alive.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen play at Freiburg on Sunday and need to win their three remaining games, with Bayern, who have a significant goal difference advantage, needing just a point to lift the title.
Leipzig grabbed the lead 11 minutes in when Sesko pounced on a mistake from visiting ‘keeper Jonas Urbig, who was slipped while well outside of his penalty box, allowing the Slovenian to hit a long-range shot home.
Klostermann doubled Leipzig’s lead shortly before half-time, heading in from a David Raum header.
Leipzig, who needed a win to boost their hopes of Champions League football next season, were in control and looked on track for victory until Bayern shocked the hosts with two goals in 46 seconds.
Dier headed in from a corner, his third goal in his past four games, before Olize made the most of a Leipzig defensive mistake to level the scores.
Sane’s late goal sent Bayern’s bench wild.
As the clock wound down, a beaming Kane made his way down from the stands to the sidelines, ready to collect the title of his career.
Poulsen was however sent through on goal by Xavi Simons and cooly chipped the ‘keeper to delay Bayern’s party by at least a day.
Later on Sunday, Borussia Dortmund can keep their top-four hopes alive with a win at home against Wolfsburg.
Champions League finalists last season, Dortmund were as low as 11th this year but have won four of their past five.
Chile footballer Vidal cleared of suspicion in sexual assault case

- The woman accused Vidal and other Colo Colo players of sexual assault
- Other unnamed members of Vidal’s team remain under investigation
SANTIAGO: Chilean football star Arturo Vidal has been cleared of suspicion of sexual assault, prosecutors said Saturday, adding that the complaint made by a woman over a party at a Santiago night club had been dismissed.
The woman accused Vidal, 37, and other players from his first-division Colo Colo side of sexual assault at a club, where the footballers were celebrating a birthday on November 4.
“We were able to reconstitute the events of that day and, ultimately, there is no evidence to support charges,” prosecutor Felipe Cembrano said in a video sent to the media.
Other unnamed members of Vidal’s team remain under investigation, however.
Former Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Inter Milan midfielder Vidal returned last year to Colo Colo, where he started his career at 17.
He was part of the so-called “Golden Generation” that led Chile to victory in the 2015 Copa America.