Real Madrid brush aside Barcelona in Copa del Rey semis

BARCELONA, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 26: Real Madrid celebrate their victory at the end of the Copa del Rey semi final second leg match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at Camp Nou

Real Madrid progressed to the finals of the Copa del Rey with a convincing 3–1 win in the return fixture, after a 1–1 draw at the Bernabeu in the first leg. A brace from Ronaldo and a header from Varane were sufficient for Jose Mourinho’s men to overcome the Catalans, who scored a late goal through Jordi Alba, at the Camp Nou. Coming as it does in light of the recent defeat to Milan, it is a defeat which threatens to derail Barcelona’s season altogether, leaving only the league title in their hands; something which they can make even more glorious with revenge over Madrid in the upcoming fixture this weekend.

Contrary to recent fixtures, it was Barcelona who started on the front foot with two near misses in the opening couple of minutes. First, it was Iniesta’s effort from outside the box which went narrowly wide of goal, before Messi’s effort across goal in the second minute was merely hairbreadths wide of Lopez’s goal. Pedro’s role in the build-up was crucial as well, with some excellent footwork against Coentrao allowing him to pick out Messi at the near post. Manuel Pinto, who started the game in place of Valdes, was forced into a save just past the five minute mark, but the striker – Ronaldo – was flagged offside.

The game continued to flow at a frantic pace, and Real Madrid had a golden opportunity to take the lead with a penalty in the 13^th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo was brought down by former Manchester United teammate Gerard Pique, and the referee rightly blew his whistle for a spot-kick. The Portuguese star stepped up to take the penalty himself, and, in spite of an overly energetic effort from Pinto to distract him, placed the ball into the bottom-left corner, giving Madrid a vital away goal for the tie. It was a record sixth consecutive goal in Clasico fixtures for Ronaldo, and one which is certain to be shoved in the face of his critics.

Cristiano Ronaldo (L) of Real Madrid celebrates scoring his sides opening goal with his teammate Sergio Ramos during the Copa del Rey semi final second leg match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF

Barcelona pressed the game in search of an equalizer, but to no real effect, while Madrid seemed most likely to catch Barca out on the counter. In fact, Gonzalo Higuain had the ball in the back of the net in the 28^th minute, having received a clever pass from Ozil, but was rightfully deemed offside. The home side had some strong penalty claims waved away in the 34^th minute when Xabi Alonso took Pedro down in the box, while making little effort to go for the ball. It was in part responsible for adding to the hype around the referee, which had been created by Roura’s and Mourinho’s comments in the build-up to the game.

A few minutes later, some brilliant play from Iniesta earned his side a free kick right at the edge of the box, but Messi’s effort, which was allowed to go under the Madrid wall, was slightly wide of goal. Almost immediately after, a series of fouls and blocks at the Barca end led to a free kick about 35 yards out, which almost fell to Ramos, but eventually rolled out for a goal kick instead. There were some unsavoury scenes at the end, when Jordi Alba was at the receiving end of a knock from Arbeloa and went down, but Madrid continued with play. Sergio Ramos went across to enquire about the Barca full-back, but was met with an angry reaction from Alba and walked away in conversation with Xavi while Alba received medical attention.

The second half began at just as frantic a pace as the first one had ended, with end to end football on display. The 52^nd minute saw a lay-off well directed at goal by Sergio Busquets, but Lopez was equal to the task and managed to maintain his team’s lead. Real Madrid went one better and doubled their lead five minutes later with a second goal from Ronaldo. A hook forward from Xabi Alonso set Di Maria away on a one-on-one against Puyol, and while the veteran defender did well to keep up with the Argentine, he unfortunately slipped in the penalty box. This allowed Di Maria to take a shot at goal, which was saved by Pinto, but fell to an unmarked Ronaldo in the box, who made no mistake slotting it home and making it 2 – 0 to the visitors.

Real were really beginning to run away with the game amid gloom at the Camp Nou, and they made it 3 – 0 in the 68^th minute, thanks to Varane. It was a Ronaldo-esque header from the young centre-back off a corner which beat Pinto, hitting the underside of the cross bar on its way in. It was a goal that killed off the game, both in terms of excitement as well as intensity, with both teams accepting the result as a foregone conclusion. Pepe was up to his usual disgraceful antics near the end of the game, with a cynical grin following a scuffle with Busquets and Alba.

Barcelona’s defender Jordi Alba celebrates after scoring during the Spanish Cup semi-final second leg football match FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid CF

A perfect lob over the top from Iniesta found Alba in the box, allowing the defender to slot home a consolation for the home side a minute from time, but that was scant solace for the fans or the players as Madrid advanced to the finals with a convincing win.

Result: Barcelona (Jordi Alba 89’) 1 – 3 Real Madrid (Cristiano Ronaldo (P) 13’, 57’ Raphael Varane 68’)