Barcelona were clearly not affected by off-field events as they produced a rousing fightback to reach the Copa del Rey final.
Ronald Koeman was full of admiration for the mentality of his Barcelona players after they produced an "incredible" comeback to advance to the Copa del Rey final with a 3-0 win over Sevilla.
Barca started a dramatic second leg at Camp Nou on Wednesday with a two-goal deficit, but won the tie 3-2 on aggregate to set up a final against Athletic Bilbao or Levante.
The Catalan giants hit the headlines at the start of the week when ex-president Josep Maria Bartomeu was among those arrested on Monday – he was then provisionally released under charges of unfair administration and corruption of business – as part of a police investigation into last year's 'Barçagate' scandal.
Barcelona unaffected by Barçagate
There was no sign of any turmoil as Ousmane Dembele put Barça in front early on and Gerard Pique made it 2-2 with a last-gasp header to force extra time midweek.
Lucas Ocampos had missed a chance to level on the night when his penalty was saved by Barça goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen with 17 minutes remaining and Sevilla had Fernando sent off before Pique struck.
Martin Braithwaite put Barça in front early in extra time and Luuk de Jong – who had been substituted – was shown a red card on the touchline for dissent after Sevilla were denied another penalty.
Barça head coach Koeman hailed the character shown by his side, who also beat Sevilla 2-0 in LaLiga on Saturday.
The former Netherlands boss said after the match "We always believed. We never gave up on the Copa. It's a question of mentality.
"I, as a coach, can't ask my team to do more than what I've seen tonight. We fought until extra time and it's incredible. I'm very happy with the team's work tonight.
"We deserved to go through. I think we were better over the two legs. We were the best team."
Koeman added in a week that will end with the Barca presidential election: "We managed to score three goals and could've scored more. You can't ask for more."
DjMnH
858
I don't care about the end result of 2nd leg against PSG. what me or any Barca fan would prefer that PSG should have super hard time. what a great team work tonight. they never seemed to lose hope and kept fighting. wish we had similar mindset during last few years.
Rajan_Sapkota
736
Engineer TeeJay
653
bacra fans right now
25220691(deleted)
615
this is priceless. forca barca
RAHUL10Footballfan
580
you just need to keep this smile on
Wal_Arab
524
He Never give up on the team even do he don't have minutes.
LattiLinx
502
Happiest barca fans this will be their only cup final for the season.🤣🤭
Suntex1997
475
BARCELONA is sitting on a gold mine of Young Talent🥰❤️💪💪i wish all the injured players Quickly recovery ❤️🙏 Culer❤️Forever ✌️❤️
Fifbro11
453
Goals for Braithwaite in Copa Del Rey:2 Goals for Pele in Copa Del Rey:0 Damn! Braithwaite is soooo underrated
LattiLinx
426
barca fans waiting for the haters who doubted them.
varma232
348
Barcelona is not a team it's a mix of emotions.which are sad,fear,anger,and surprise and joy
ashiboy
339
The saver of the day
ishti
326
Koeman to Braithwaite:- take this, you deserve this man
Fauzisma
311
our saviour
25220691(deleted)
268
I am not crying 😭 ❤️💙
Wohbcimt
254
the best player on the earth 👽
Fifbro11
220
Looks like Koeman is finally happy
tinomukutafy
186
well done koeman prove dem haters wrong without any back up from the board you still bring the best out of your team....where are those Barca fans who said Koeman out a few weeks ago
fotbeos
169
This is the kind of winning project and winning mentality Messi wnna see. Koeman is doing something positive with the Barca players that we need to appreciate. All the tactical changes he made paid off. My only worry is that most of the he makes late changes. Let's stop abusing our own players when they fail to dip the bread into the sauce. Am proud to be a Barca fan. From Banks, Accra, Ghana
Rumbimtyz
13
I don't care about the end result of 2nd leg against PSG. what me or any Barca fan would prefer that PSG should have super hard time. what a great team work tonight. they never seemed to lose hope and kept fighting. wish we had similar mindset during last few years.
u said the reality bro we should give them some real fight rather than for getting 4 goals , if we win we have to take that and move on same goes even if we lose but we have to give some courageous fight before we end up that's it
Fifbro11
12
stop it man, Braithwaite is giving 100 percent,stop trolling him
I am not trolling it’s just a joke.
GladiatorSp
9
Looks like Koeman is finally happy
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The hustle and positivity is what makes him best. I admire Koeman! So much respect for this man!!
Fifbro11
9
stop it man, Braithwaite is giving 100 percent,stop trolling him
And I know that even if he isn’t a great player he always gives 💯 to help Barca win
cepdlmoprt
8
Happiest barca fans this will be their only cup final for the season.🤣🤭
[image]
better than nothing