Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to help Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 at Camp Nou tonight (4-2 on aggregate), securing their place in the final of the Copa del Rey.

League leaders Barça dominated possession throughout the match, but were unable to create chances on goal. Lionel Messi looked as if he was going to open the scoring only 90 seconds into the game, but his shot went just wide.

Real took the lead after 13 minutes after Piqué brought down Cristiano Ronaldo on the wing and the Portugal ace subsequently scored from the spot.

Almost immediately afterwards, Fàbregas had a penalty appeal of his own turned down at the other end of the field after tumbling under Alvaro Arbeloa's challenge.

Thousands of Barça fans wrongly thought their side had equalised just before half-time when Messi caught the outside of the net with a low free-kick, after Arbeloa was booked for bringing down Andres Iniesta.

Instead, a lightning-fast counter attack by Real early in the second half extended the visitors' lead, as Angel Di Maria chased a long ball out of defence and got the better of veteran defender Carles Puyol. Di Maria's deflected up off the feet of Pinto, dropping perfectly for Ronaldo to control and convert in the 57th minute.

Any hopes Barcelona had of mounting a comeback evaporated when Raphael Varane made it 3-0 with a towering header from a corner. Jordi Alba's late goal for Barcelona was nothing more than consolation.