Barcelona and Atletico Madrid played out an astonishing 4-4 draw in their first leg with their second leg to come, whilst a 1-0 win for Real Madrid against Real Sociedad certainly didn't appear to be a precursor to what was another epic eight-goal thriller on Tuesday night.
Real Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil had only won one of his eight matches in all competitions against Carlo Ancelotti (D1 L6) - 2-0 at home in LaLiga in May 2023 - so most visiting supporters would've identified that the second leg was likely to be an uphill struggle for them.
Furthermore, prior to the game Sociedad hadn't won any of their last four away games in all competitions (D1 L3), conceding an average of 3.25 goals per game, including their Europa League elimination by Manchester United.
They hadn't gone five consecutive away games without a win since April 2023 (D2 L4), where they were also eliminated in the Europa League (v Roma).
Sociedad knocked Madrid out in their last Copa del Rey meeting
Sociedad knocked out Real Madrid in their last Copa del Rey semi-final meeting thanks to a 4-0 victory at Santiago Bernabeu in 1988, and whilst a similar scoreline was never likely to be repeated, would lightning strike twice in terms of the outcome?
The Txuri-Urdin could also draw upon the memories of their last meeting with Los Blancos in the Copa del Rey, when they won a single-legged tie in February 2020 (4-3 in the quarterfinals), even if they'd been winless in their last four visits to the Santiago Bernabeu in all competitions (D2, L2).
For once, Ancelotti cut a manic figure on the touchline at times as the tie swung one way and then the other, and with alarming regularity late in the game.
Although the visitors took the lead through Ander Barrenetxea in the 16th minute, the hosts began to dominate.
So much so that they had 69.1% possession in the following quarter hour and took six shots at goal to La Real's none in the lead up to half-time. Endrick's 30th-minute equaliser was the eighth time that Los Blancos had scored in the opening 45 minutes of a Copa game this season, with only Barcelona managing more (11).
67.9% possession over the opening 15 minutes of the second half suggested that Madrid would eventually ease to victory, and Sociedad keeper, Alex Remiro, was certainly kept busy.
Although he conceded four goals in the end, he also made five saves, the first time he had made at least that many in a Copa del Rey match since facing Real Betis on 26th January 2021.
For all of Madrid's ball manipulation and pretty passing moves during the game, Ancelotti's star-studded side conceded twice more before clawing themselves back into the tie.
Jude Bellingham, a scorer on the night, also took his chance creation in this season's Copa del Rey to 11, just one less than teammate Luka Modric, who has created the most in the competition despite playing only 273 minutes.
Vini Jr wasn't on the score sheet on this occasion, but was still in the thick of things and attempted five shots for the first time in the competition since Real faced Atletico Madrid on 18th January 2024.
Arda Guler will feel hard done by once again
Arda Guler's 15-minute cameo was certainly worthwhile too, and will surely pose more questions as to why he isn't able to claim a regular start under Ancelotti.
Just 10 minutes after coming on, the 20-year-old Turkish sensation provided the assist for Antonio Rudiger's winner in the 115th minute.
It was the third time in this season's competition he'd provided an assist (no one has more) - with all of them coming in extra time (108 and 119 minutes for Endrick against Celta Vigo in a 5-2 win being the other assists).
Rudiger's towering header was also the fifth time that a Real substitute has scored in the 2024/25 Copa del Rey, which is more than any other side has managed this season and shows the importance of having a strong bench from which to call upon.
Given the way in which Los Blancos incessantly attacked their opponents, it's a wonder how La Real managed to plunder four goals themselves, and will give Ancelotti food for thought ahead of the final.
It was the first time that Sociedad have scored four goals in a game since February 6th, 2020, coincidentally also against Real Madrid in a 4-3 win.
Two of their goals on Tuesday night came in a manic last 10 minutes of normal time, meaning Real Madrid had conceded four goals overall in the last 15 minutes of the second half - more than any other team in the Copa del Rey this season.
Mikel Oyarzabal's second, which levelled things up in injury time and sent the game into an extra 30 minutes, gave him his first brace since January 5th, 2022 against Leganes, and his 14 shots in total in the competition is also the most of any player in 24/25.
The visitors can certainly feel hard done by after playing the fullest part in a match that most football watchers might've considered to be a foregone conclusion before the kick-off.
As it turned out, Real Madrid needed to call upon their famous powers of recovery late in the game and, even when Oyarzabal's 93rd-minute equaliser looked to have knocked the stuffing out of them, they still had enough left in the tank to get over the line.
Their reward? A mouth-watering El Clasico or El Derbi Madrileno final against either local rivals, Atleti, or eternal rivals, Barcelona.
