Copa Del Rey final, FC Barcelona 3-1 Alaves: 5 Talking Points
Barcelona gave their departing manager Luis Enrique a perfect farewell as the Catalans won the Copa Del Rey final 3-1 against Alaves. The domestic cup trophy win allowed Barcelona to end their season on a high as this campaign has been a damning learning curve for the players and the manager alike.
Lionel Messi broke the deadlock in the 30th minute with his usual out of the box curler before Theo Hernandez levelled for Alaves three minutes later via a beautiful free kick. But the Catalans scored two more before half time courtesy of Neymar and Paco Alcacer to take the game away from their final opponents.
So without wasting further time, let's head right into the five talking points from Barcelona's Copa Del Rey win over Alaves:
#1 A perfect send off for Lucho
The manager - Luis Enrique - has been loved and loathed in equal measures during his three-year spell in charge of the club. This season was a disappointment for Enrique and his players as questions were raised about the effectiveness of his playing style in the long run.
Enrique decided to call it a day in April and what transpired last night was the perfect farewell to the man who won nine trophies out of a possible 13 during his three seasons with his beloved club.
Barcelona had never lost a game in the Copa Del Rey under Enrique as that record remained intact with a 3-1 win over Alaves. The momentum of the match shifted here and there a few times as making a game nervous for themselves has been an unwelcoming trait of Luis Enrique's Barcelona.
But his players stepped up to the challenge and gave their manager a parting gift to savour on his future endeavours.