The Messi show: Barcelona win Copa Del Rey as Ronald Koeman lifts first trophy

The Messi show: Barcelona win Copa Del Rey as Ronald Koeman wins first trophy

Barcelona players pictured after lifting the Copa del Rey trophy

Barcelona players celebrating Copa del Rey victory. (Photo credit: @fcbarcelona via Twitter)

Barcelona thrash Atletico Bilbao to win the Copa del Rey final after scoring four goals in 12 minutes as Lionel Messi scored a brilliant goal.

Bilbao frustrated Barca until the 60th minute before Antoine Griezmnann scored from a Frankie de Jong's cross.

De Jong scored a header three minutes later.

Messi then scored the goal of the game or tournament, the Barca captain exchange passes with De Jong and found the bottom corner with a curler for Barca's third.

Messi scored his second from a Jordi Alba's cross four minutes later.

The win earns Barcelona their first trophy since Ronald Koeman became their manager and their first silverware since 2019.

"At Barca, you have to always fight for trophies" - What Ronald Koeman Said

"To win a title is important for me," said Koeman, whose side are third in La Liga - two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid.

"Despite the changes at the club and the young players, at Barca, you have to always fight for trophies.

"We have the first one and now we are going to fight to the last game in La Liga."

For Athletic Bilbao, it was a second Copa del Rey final loss in two weeks after they lost to Real Sociedad in the postponed 2020 final on 3 April.

Messi is an idol to his teammates

📸 Football ❤️ #Messi
🙌 Captain. Teammate. Idol. pic.twitter.com/DT8yHYeupr
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 18, 2021

Barcelona's season has been a rollercoaster of events as they are a team in transition and with Messi saying he wanted to exit the club.

But last night, they were a very excellent team and could have scored more but Unai Simon kept them out with two excellent saves.

Messi was the maestro, as usual, he dictated the tempo of Barca's attack and he capped the victory with two goals.

His first was something to behold, dribbling, passing, running into space, and a brilliant finish and the second was a trademark first-time left-footed strike into the bottom corner.

Barcelona hierarchy and fans would hope this trophy can make the Argentine legend extend his stay at Nou Camp.

Different views of Messi's amazing goal in the Copa del Rey Final

MESSI WHAT A GOAL 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/HqaBruyPXB
— MessiTeam (@Lionel10Team) April 17, 2021

This view of Messi’s goal.. INSANE pic.twitter.com/2MNAELbKnq
— J. (@MessiIizer) April 17, 2021

What fans are saying on Twitter about Messi's performance in the Copa del Rey

Lionel Messi now overtakes Pele as the player with most goals in finals (30). pic.twitter.com/iFlUQEs1Ku
— Umer (@Iconic_Messi) April 17, 2021

This is where Messi received the ball before combining with De Jong to score his first goal tonight. Don’t compare this demon to some tap-in merchants please. pic.twitter.com/Fv14MFO3lr
— Fiaz Hamzath (@fiaz_hamzath) April 17, 2021

Messi has scored 30+ goals for 13 straight seasons, i don’t think anyone understands how crazy that actually is
— 𝓛𝓮𝓮🍊 (@IeeSZN) April 17, 2021

Lionel Messi is the only player that has more trophies (37) than his age (33). On a league of his own 🐐 pic.twitter.com/cL1lHZ0jkG
— Barça Worldwide (@BarcaWorldwide) April 18, 2021