Takeaways: Griezmann denied cup fairytale as Atlético suffer upset loss

Real Sociedad beat Atlético de Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, 2-2 after extra time and 4-3 on penalties. The result brings Atleti supporters all the way back down to earth after a midweek win over FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League — having eliminated that club from the King’s Cup at the start of March. The result is more than fair.

Atleti made mistakes, did not convince in attack and did not defend well at all. All the credit needs to go to Real Sociedad and American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo, who has completed a marvelous turnaround at a club that was staring relegation right in the face earlier this year. Matarazzo becomes the first American manager to lead a team to a major trophy in one of Europe’s top five football leagues.

Derrota en la tanda de penaltis. pic. twitter.

com/QHVMSFD9N4 — Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) April 18, 2026 Simeone’s men were stunned from the start following the quickest goal in Copa del Rey final history. Matteo Ruggeri and Robin Le Normand should have defended better, and Juan Musso’s goalkeeping could have been stronger, but this put Atleti in a tough position very early. Atleti pushed as hard as they could for 18 minutes after and were awarded for their efforts with a great goal from Ademola Lookman.