football
After the recent setbacks in the Europa League and championship, FC Barcelona has come back in the first of three “Clasicos” against arch-rival Real Madrid. Barca prevailed 1-0 (1-0) in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals in Madrid on Thursday and thus have all the trumps in their hands in the second leg on April 5 at home. However, Real scored the decisive goal themselves.
Eder Militao’s own goal in the 26th minute became a tragic figure for the Madrilenians, who were watched by David Alaba with a muscle injury. Barcelona go into the second leg on April 5 at the Camp Nou as favorites. Barca also redeemed themselves from Europa League exit and recent league loss to Almeria. In the second semi-final, CA Osasuna won the first leg against Athletic Bilbao 1-0 on Wednesday. The final will take place in Seville on May 6th.
In the decisive scene, Eduardo Camavinga lost the ball and Ferran Torres released Franck Kessie. The midfielder was denied by goalie Thibaut Courtois, but Militao maneuvered the ball into his own net. Dani Carvajal’s rescue attempt on the line failed. The goal was initially disallowed due to an alleged offside by Kessie, but the VAR reversed that decision.
Before and after the “Clasico” could not meet the high expectations. It developed into a disorganized game with a lot of midfield banter. Real played more in the second half but never came close to equalizing. At the other end, Kessie missed the opportunity to make it 2-0 in the 72nd minute for the Catalans, who were without the injured Robert Lewandowski, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele.
Prelude to “Clasico” triple
The clash at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu was the first of three “Clasicos” in just over a month. Because before the second leg in the Copa on April 5th, there is another exchange of blows between the two arch-rivals in the championship on March 19th at the Camp Nou. Real won the first comparison in mid-October 3-1. It was the first of Barcelona’s two defeats, the second coming 1-0 at stragglers Almeria last Sunday. Before that, they fell by the wayside in the Europa League play-off at Manchester United.