Seville, April 24 (BNA): Real Betis beat Valencia 5-4 on penalties to win the King’s Cup, after young Younes Moussa missed the only penalty kick in the penalty shootout that ended on Sunday morning.
The American midfielder, who played as a substitute, sent the ball high over Claudio Bravo’s goal to the delight of Betis fans, the Associated Press reported.
It was Betis’ third King’s Cup title, ending a 17-year wait to win a major title for the Seville-based team.
“This is what we wanted, to win the King’s Cup again,” said 40-year-old Betis captain Joaquin Sanchez, who converted the penalty shootout and picked up the trophy from King Felipe VI of Spain. “It is thanks to work not only this year. We have grown up little by little and are having a great season.”
The Betis favorite then made some passes in bullfights as part of the on-court celebrations of the 53,000-seater green-clad section of Seville’s La Cartuja stadium.
The final match featured a vibrant competition that both sides dominated for periods.
Betis, led by Manuel Pellegrini, scored a goal in the 11th minute from a header from Borja Iglesias, who led his attack all night. Sergio Canales and Juanmi Jimenez both hit the post, and Valencia needed Giorgi Mamardashvili to deny Nabil Fekir and Iglesias in the last moments of normal time.
Valencia relied on their counter-attacks, which produced the equalizer in the 30’s when Hugo Douro hit the ball over Bravo in the second half after it was played by Alex Moriba.
The score remained 1-1 at the end of the regulation and within 30 minutes of extra time, when scoring opportunities dried up with a clear decline in the players’ performance.
Mamardashvili, the goalkeeper from Georgia who joined Valencia in the January transfer market, could not stop the partial kicks by Willian Jose, Joaquin, Andres Guardado, Christian Tello and Juan Miranda, the substitute who snatched the title with No. 5.
Valencia had hoped to add eight cups to his collection. Carlos Soler, Aros Rasic, Goncalo Guedes and Jose Gaya converted four penalty kicks for their team.
“This football, sometimes great, other times cruel,” said Gaia, the captain of Valencia, crying openly. “It hurts a lot. We gave everything we could and had chances. It’s very difficult because we thought we could win.”