For just the fourth time in their history, Mallorca will contest the final of the Copa del Rey, having seen off Real Sociedad on penalties after the two teams could not be separated after 210 gruelling minutes.
La Real were the most dominant side in the first half at Reale Arena, albeit without being able to finish any of their chances. The biggest came from the penalty spot, but Brais Mendez was denied by an excellent stop from Dominik Greif. They were made to pay for that five minutes into the second period, as Giovanni Gonzalez headed home a fine cross from Jaume Costa.
That had Mallorca on their way to the final, but it was La Real’s main man who dragged them back into the tie. Mikel Oyarzabal, who had been on the pitch for less than 10 minutes after returning from five games out due to injury, was played in by Mendez, and he made no mistake to bring the score to 1-1.
No more goals came in the remainder of normal time, nor in extra time, which meant that penalties would decide the outcome. Oyarzabal’s spot kick was saved first up by Greif, and with Vedat Muriqi, Manu Morlanes, Omar Mascarell, Nemanja Radonjic and Sergi Darder all scoring, it was enough to see Javier Aguirre’s side progress.
Mallorca will now play the winner of the other semi-final between Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid, with the second leg of that taking place on Thursday – Los Leones hold a one-goal advantage from the first leg in Madrid.
