Football, at its agonising best.
Osasuna push Real Madrid all the way, but this was King Carlo's day.
In the space of just 475 days, Real Madrid have won it all.
Six trophies, from Paris to the Middle East. Champions of their country, their continent and then the world.
The Copa del Rey completes the set, but Carlo Ancelotti isn’t finished yet.
This team, and this manager, in knockout, winner-takes-all football – surely the result was inevitable from the off.
Yet, of all competitions that this trophy-laden football club have mastered, Real Madrid’s 20th Copa del Rey has been a long time coming.
Not since Gareth Bale sped away at Mestalla have Los Blancos lifted the Spanish cup, and they have lost to Cádiz, Leganés and third-tier Alcoyano in the nine years since.
And tonight, facing an Osasuna side in just their second ever final – while it was Madrid’s 40th in this competition alone – their opposition was hungry, unwavering, and stern.
Amid the heat of Seville, though, the fever-pitch crowd, the cup-final favourites did exactly what they had to do.
It took just 93 seconds for Vinícius Júnior to skip past one, then two, and lay the ball on a plate for Rodrygo to score. The raucous, red half of the Cartuja covered their eyes as the worst case scenario unfurled.
Smelling blood, Real Madrid bombarded the left-flank in a relentless opening, finding Vinícius with four raking diagonal balls in just 10 minutes of football. Up against Jon Moncayola, the Brazilian tricked, tormented and bad-mouthed a very talented midfielder as ruthlessly as a football player can.
Cutting inside, skipping outside, doing everything in his power to outwit a dogged defender, it was quite brilliant early battle to set the match light.
Wave after wave of Vinícius ensued, but it was actually behind the Brazilian that Osasuna found their first moments of joy.
Wriggling from the whirlwind, an adventurous Rubén Peña hauled his side up the pitch, floating crosses onto the head of Ante Budimir and Aimar Oroz as a breathless beginning gradually began to even out.
The underdogs had a foothold in the game.
Sergio Herrera made a stunning save down low to deny Karim Benzema, before Copa hero Abde Ezzalzouli raced clear of Eder Militão, only to see a scuffed effort hooked off the line.
Alaba then rattled the crossbar with a fiercely struck free-kick just before an incredible half of football came to an end. 17 shots between the two sides – nine for the Navarreses who had clawed themselves back from the brink.
Osasuna, despite an early hammer blow, were still in a pulsating game.
Of the 11 Rojillos on the pitch, three have been Osasuna for life. Moncayola joined his local side when he was ten years old, while captain David García was a young supporter in the stands the last time his side reached a cup final, only four years after academy graduate Amir Oroz was born.
Yet, it would be a former Real Madrid man who would score the ultimate goal.
Lasering a viciously spinning ball into the bottom corner, it was a scorching strike quite literally set the stadium alight.
1-1, and Navarra dared to dream.
Settling back into a 4-5-1 block, Los Rojillos looked to weather the storm. Cult hero Chimy Ávila came on to replace Budimir – to be the buzzing outlet up front – while Peña kept a watchful eye on Moncayola, now carded, and looking nervously towards his fleet-footed foe.
Vinícius had already waltzed past the pair – Moncayola first, then Peña. He would land the sucker punch by ripping through them once again, but this time, in reverse.
Driving to the byline and pulling it back, a miscued clearance would see the ball fall to Rodrygo, lifting a smart finish over the despairing dive of Herrera.
A man with 13 La Liga goals, adds a cup final brace to his 15 European strikes.
Osasuna threw everything at it for an equaliser, and came so, so close. Having already cleared from the line, Carvajal’s last-ditch challenge denied Kike Barja the fairytale finish.
A brutal end to a dizzying cup run, Jagoba Arrasate’s men became the latest group of players broken by Real Madrid.
Ultimately, it was that inevitable result, but this was a battle to behold.
Arrasate’s tears at the end encapsulated the emotional turmoil of a hard-hitting final. His side had overcome extra-time three times to get there – defeating the holders in their own back-yard along the way.
It will take a while to recover, but Osasuna can’t afford to let this derail a season. Still in with a shout of Europe, it’s a campaign that could still kick-start an exciting new era.
For now, though, there’ll be time to reflect on their tantalising trip to another cup final. After all, that was football at its agonising best.