Koundé lifts Barcelona to Copa del Rey glory with his extra-time winner against Madrid

SEVILLE, Spain (AP) - With the Copa del Rey final apparently ticking toward penalties, Jules Koundé pounced on the chance to snatch an extra-time winner to clinch Barcelona's 3-2 extra-time victory over Real Madrid on Saturday.

The France defender surged forward when he saw Brahim Díaz turn his back on Luka Modric's short pass near Madrid’s area. He intercepted the ball, dribbled forward and fired a perfectly-placed low shot into the corner of the net to ignite Barcelona's faithful at La Cartuja Stadium.

"I am very proud of my team," Koundé said. "We had trouble keeping control of the second half but again we showed our character. And then, we pulled it off at the limit when we were very tired."

Coach Hansi Flick praised Koundé, both for the goal and for his defense while marking Madrid speedster Vinícius Júnior.

“Jules saved two or three actions (by Madrid) and you saw the mentality that Jules has when he scored that goal," Flick said. "He was in the right position to score that goal. He is a player who never gives up."

In his first season in charge, Flick has invigorated a Barcelona team that didn't win a title and was seemingly spiritless under predecessor Xavi Hernández.

Raphinha is the player who has shown the most progress, but Koundé is Flick's must-have player on the field.

The 26-year-old has played more minutes than anyone for Flick this campaign. And when many players on both teams were clearly tired in extra time, he showed no signs of exhaustion when he tilted the thriller in Barcelona's favor in the 116th minute.