Barcelona may have sputtered in April, but they knew how to finish strong to bring home two trophies to the Camp Nou. It took more than the normal 90 minutes, but the azulgranas edged past Sevilla and some incredible goal keeping to bring home the Copa del Rey Sunday night at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid, where they ironically lost out on their chance to compete for an unprecedented back-to-back treble season.

Sergio Rico did all he could in front of goal for Sevilla, and despite conceding two goals to lose 2-0, one could argue he was the Man of the Match. Rico fended off shots from all comers especially late, but Messi placed a perfect through pass to release Neymar who had Rico one-on-one from point blank range.

Brazilian international Dani Alves opened the scoring in extra time, netting his last goal in a Barça uniform, it was announced in the Spanish press Wednesday that he would be securing a free move to Italian side Juventus this summer. At age 33, Alves has spent the last eight years in a Barcelona uniform, after coming over from Sevilla, where he spent the previous six years.

The Barcelona right back has had an uneasy past couple seasons, often publicly fighting the Barcelona upper management over his contract. Alves reportedly made seven million euros this past season. 

With a two trophy haul this season, and exhibiting top notch play after their April swoon, many are wondering if the two best teams in Europe are in fact playing in the final in Milan this Saturday. It is a fair question, however Atlético Madrid are deserving finalists. It's Madrid's other team that may not be better than Barcelona.

Yes, Real Madrid did beat Barcelona in the latest Clásico, and they ended the season on an incredible unbeaten streak. Although they did not perform at a high level throughout the year, and one could argue that the opponents they drew in the tournament were among the weakest available. 

With their rivals winning two trophies, and even Sevilla bringing home a Europa League trophy, the pressure is on Real Madrid to win the Champions League or end up trophy-less for the second straight season. Atleti come to Milan without as much pressure, as they don't set the expectation year in and year out of winning trophies, simply being at the final is an accomplishment on its own.

In the end Barcelona on paper completed a decent season, but its accomplishments harken to what could have been.

Photo: Flickr/El Renzo