Barca, Real Madrid draw 1-1 in thrilling Copa del Ray semis

With Barcelona enjoying the majority of possession, the first-leg match grew in intensity with end-to-end play as both teams raced forward with fast-paced counterattacks.

As goalkeeper Iker Casillas was injured, Diego Lopez played in goal for Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo was captain.

Lionel Messi intercepted a clearance, and passed to Cesc Fabregas, who opened the scoring in the 50th minute.

“This is obviously a good result; we are in the Bernabeu, a very tough field, and we will have our own fans behind us for the return leg of the draw,” Fabregas said.

The 19-year-old Raphael Varane sealed an excellent match, heading an equalizer in the 81st having saved three clear Barcelona chances earlier.

“It's like a dream come true, incredible to score a goal like that against Barcelona at just 19,” Varane said. “The second leg will be evenly matched and we're going to play a good match there to win.”

The second leg will be at the Camp Nou on Feb. 27.

The match ended Messi's prolific scoring streak in which he had found the back of the net in his previous 16 starts.

Madrid began the match attacking, and Gerard Pique fouled a charging Ronaldo in the first minute to concede a free kick which the striker struck hard and head-high, but goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto saved.

Barcelona had its first chance from a well-timed pass by Andres Iniesta that Jordi Alba ran onto, beating the offside trap, but he shot wide of the far post in the 13th.

Xavi Hernandez struck a free kick that hit the crossbar in the 21st.

“These matches are always difficult and I had said that in all probability the semifinals would likely be decided in Barcelona and that's exactly what's going to happen,” said Barcelona deputy coach Jordi Roura, who was in charge as Tito Vilanova was in the United States undergoing medical tests.

Defender Ricardo Carvalho nearly gifted Barcelona its first goal when he made a poor back-pass to Lopez which Fabregas intercepted and passed to Xavi Hernandez, who shot towards goal only to find that Varane had sprinted back to kick the ball out of the goalmouth in the 24th.

The second half also began with Madrid attacking, but Karim Benzema shot high.

Varane made his second vital interception to prevent Messi's pass reaching an advancing Fabregas in the 56th.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Bartoli wins after Fed Cup recall, Kvitova advances

NEXT ARTICLE
Knicks power over Magic as Anthony sets scoring record

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit