On Tuesday, Real Madrid booked their place in the 2024-25 Copa del Rey final with a 5-4 aggregate victory over Real Sociedad. It means that they have the chance to win the competition for the second time in three seasons, should they overcome Atletico Madrid or Barcelona in the final, which will be played later this month.
Real Madrid were far from convincing at the Santiago Bernabeu, conceding four times to La Real. Andriy Lunin should do little about the goals, but the fact that he and his defence were so weak will play in the mind of Carlo Ancelotti, who will soon start to plan his starting line-up for the showpiece event at La Cartuja.
According to Relevo, the big dilemma for Ancelotti will involve Lunin, who has been his starting goalkeeper throughout this season’s Copa del Rey. However, the Ukrainian may be dropped for the final in favour of Thibaut Courtois, who is Real Madrid’s undisputed number one.
It would be cruel for Lunin to miss out on playing another final for Real Madrid, having been overlooked by Ancelotti for this season’s Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund. Lunin played throughout the knockout stages due to Courtois’ unavailability because of back-to-back knee injuries, but the Belgian goalkeeper returned in time to play at Wembley, which meant that his number two was relegated to the bench.
That situation showed that Ancelotti has no problem dropping Lunin for Courtois in cup finals, and the same could happen again in the Copa del Rey, especially as Real Madrid would be facing extremely tough opposition in Atletico Madrid or Barcelona.
It remains to be seen whether Ancelotti decides to make the change, but the fact that Lunin will likely not play in the weeks leading up to the match will surely work against him in his battle with Courtois.
