Copa del Rey, Barcelona and Real Madrid in the quarterfinals: Kessie in goal, Ancelotti in comeback

Kessie celebrates after a leading match, Carletto overturns the match against Villarreal. In the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey, Barcelona – led by the former AC Milan midfielder – won 5-0 at Ceuta. Real Madrid went from 0-2 to 3-2 against Villarreal, snatching a ticket for the quarter-finals in the 86th minute.

CEUTA 0-5 BARCELONA

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Compared to the Super Cup final won against the blancos, Xavi changes ten players and only confirms Lewandowski. The move is spot on because, against the Spanish Serie C club, the striker scores a brace. In the first half, Barça scored only one goal, thanks to an intuition from Kessie who served Raphinha the ball to make it 1-0. Ceuta runs a lot and soon runs out of energy, in the second half the Catalans are rampant. In the 50th minute Franck’s ball for Lewa who doubles. In the 70th minute, the new substitute Ansu Fati started from the left, centered and placed him at the far post. In the final Kessie and Lewandowski scored again: the Ivorian guesses the insertion time and deflects a cross from Raphinha with his head, the Pole closes the match with a right footed shot from the edge that enters the bottom corner. All easy for the blaugrana, despite the very large turnover.

VILLARREAL-REAL MADRID 2-3

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Far more insidious, however, is the match of Benzema & Co, who just two weeks ago were defeated (2-1) in their championship match against Villarreal. Following the knockout in the Super Cup, Ancelotti demanded a test of character, which came in the second half after a nightmare start. In the 45th minute, the hosts were two goals ahead: the first was scored by Capoue, who pierced Courtois with a broadside after 4′, the second was by Chukwueze who masterfully concluded an action that earned him applause. Real wakes up in the last half hour: Ceballos sends Vinicius on goal in the 57th minute, Militao equalizes with a tap-in in the 69th minute, Ceballos closes it again, deflecting Asensio’s cross with his plate. The Spanish midfielder decides it with a goal and an assist, avoiding a knockout for the blancos which, on a psychological level, could have proved very heavy.