Barcelona beats Sevilla to claim 2nd straight Copa del Rey title

Entering Sunday, most of the talk surrounding the Copa del Rey final involved the Spanish government's decision to ban Estelada flags, which resulted in Barcelona filing an administrative appeal to the Madrid Courts.

In the end, Barcelona was victorious both off and on the pitch.

Two days after the court ruled that Estelada flags would be permitted at the Vicente Calderon, the symbols of Catalan independence were waved around the stadium as Barcelona defeated Sevilla 2-0, scoring twice in extra time to claim its second straight Copa del Rey title and its 28th overall.

The fixture was an uphill battle for Barcelona, who lost Javier Mascherano to a red card in the first half and Luis Suarez to an apparent injury in the second half. However, Sevilla was unable to exploit its one-man advantage, despite being on top for most of the match. Once Ever Banega was sent off in second-half stoppage time, the road was paved for the Blaugrana to conquer the Andalusian club in a 10-on-10 situation.

It took all of six minutes for Barcelona to pull ahead in extra time, as Lionel Messi produced a brilliant, 45-yard pass that took out Sevilla's defence and found Jordi Alba, who one-timed a shot past Sergio Rico.

Related - Watch: Alba's extra-time goal hands Barcelona advantage in Copa del Rey final

Then came another moment of genius from Messi, as he killed off Sevilla by finding Neymar in the 122nd minute, seconds after Daniel Carrico became the second red-card casualty for Unai Emery's side.

Both Barcelona and Sevilla were eyeing their second piece of silverware this season. The Blaugrana captured their 24th La Liga title eight days ago, while the Andalusian club won the Europa League for the third year running with a 3-1 victory over Liverpool.