Barcelona gained an advantage in the style of Madrid (0-1)

Xavi Hernández emphasized that he is motivated to go to the Bernabéu, keep the ball and win. He did the second part, the most important, and took the lead in the Copa del Rey semi-final, but he did it by winning duels, commanding in the low block and with serious difficulty judiciously connecting passing sequences. Barcelona defended well and capitalized on a mistake to win in true Real Madrid style in a little classic.

The white team started much better, hitting the corner near Ter Stegen. It took only 30 seconds for Modrić to warn of the arrival from the second row behind the central defenders, but Koundé quickly overtook him, and the Croatian put a very forced shot into the net.

The outmatched tower team shook off its dominance with long balls from its goalkeeper and got a good scare in the 12th minute. Camavinga’s steal from Kessié provoked Modric’s attack, but Vinicius passed the ball to Benzema when he was already in the backfield. The sweet control and definition of the French striker’s volley was not valid.

It took Barcelona nearly 20 minutes to get one of their trademark long possessions, although they didn’t feel comfortable threatening the Bernabéu.

revolutions grow

Everything changed when there was a revolution due to a fight with the ball between De Jong and Vinicius in which the Brazilian saw a yellow card for putting his arm around the opponent’s neck. With the madridistas still angry about the action that was much protested, especially by its protagonist, Camavinga served Barcelona’s goal with a last-ditch pass that Ferran Torres kept to generate an attack in supremacy. He assisted Kessié, and Courtois deflected his shot with his foot, but the ball bounced off Militao into his own goal.

A heavy blow for the hitherto dominant Madrid, who in the chaotic phase began to receive more. In a transition led by the ever-present Frenkie de Jong, Gavi failed to find Raphinha or Ferran for a clear cross, and shortly before the break Carvajal volleyed a remote-controlled pass to Kroos very high.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team took control again in the continuation, but hardly created chances against a superior rival in duels. Ronaldo Araújo’s dominance in the challenges of Vinicius was particularly decisive. The Uruguayan central defender arrived very quickly to a Real Madrid player’s shot on Valverde’s cross, and Ter Stegen also crossed from the far left.

Barcelona also finished comfortably, finding counter-attacking options to earn even more at the Camp Nou. Ansu Fati prevented a goal from Kessié well into the penalty area after a low cross from Ferran. Only Rodrygo got scared at the end in a projectile that narrowly missed the goal.

Technical document

Real Madrid, 0: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Rüdiger, Nacho (Rodrygo, min. 67), Camavinga, Kroos (Tchouaméni, min. 74), Modrić (Álvaro Rodríguez, min. 84), Valverde, Benzema and Vinicius.

Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​1: Ter Stegen, Araujo, Koundé, Marcos Alonso, Balde, Busquets, De Jong, Kessié (Sergi Roberto, min. 86), Raphinha (Ansu Fati, min. 69), Ferran Torres and Gavi.

Goals: 0-1: minute 27, Militao (p.).

Referee: Munuera Montero (Andalusian Committee). Showed yellow to Vinicius, Raphinha, Gavi, Nacho, Kessié, Valverde, Xavi Incidents: Copa del Rey semi-final first leg. Almost to capacity at the Bernabéu.