Barcelona 2-0 Valencia (3-1 agg) | Copa del Rey semi-final match report [guardian.co.uk]

Posted on February 9th, 2012 by admin

FC Barcelona qualified for the Copa del Rey final last night after eliminating Valencia from the competition on another cold night at the Nou Camp. After a disappointing 1-1 draw in the away leg Barcelona had to pull things togethe. Cesc put the Catalans a goal up after 15 minutes, but it wasn’t until 15 minutes from the end that Xavi sealed it for Barcelona and after the visitors had gone a man down thanks to a second yellow card. Side Lowe in The Guardian notes:

The figure just keeps on rising. Barcelona reached the Copa del Rey final with a 2-0 victory over Valencia at the Camp Nou – their third Spanish Cup final in four seasons under Pep Guardiola. It is their 12th final overall.

Read “Barcelona 2-0 Valencia (3-1 agg) | Copa del Rey semi-final match report” at guardian.co.uk

Tags: Cesc, Copa del Rey, Valencia, Xavi

Valencia CF 1 – 1 FC Barcelona: A Battered & Bleary Barca Squad Settles for a Tie [The Offside]

Posted on February 2nd, 2012 by admin

After knocking Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey last week, all eyes were on what they could do against Valencia in the semifinal. However, Barça appears to be tired and according to The Offside:

A tired and depleted Barca team did, however, manage an away tie against an impressive Valencia squad placing the team in a fairly good position on the return leg of the Copa del Rey semis. So not a bad day’s work all things considered.

With the return leg of the quarterfinal ending in a draw and a goalless draw against Villarreal at the weekend, the Catalans seem to be struggling to find their top form and even the great Lionel Messi missed from the penalty spot. However, with the useful away goal against Valencia may give them the advantage they need at the Nou Camp next week.

Read “Valencia CF 1 – 1 FC Barcelona: A Battered & Bleary Barca Squad Settles for a Tie” at The Offside

Tags: Copa del Rey, Jonas, Puyol, Valencia

Barça through to Copa semi after clasico draw

Posted on January 26th, 2012 by admin

Barcelona made it through to the Copa del Rey semifinal last night after a hard fought battle with Real Madrid ended in a 2-2 draw.

Madrid started the match fired up and going all out to score early on. However, despite being in full attack mode they never quite managed to get the ball into the net, despite coming close on several occasions.

Özil came close to scoring for the visitors after 20 minutes from 30 metres out. The ball went over Pinto’s head, struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced out just in front of the line.

It took 30 minutes or so for Barça to really get into the game. It wasn’t until the end of the first half though that Pedro scored from the area off a Messi assist; and shortly after Alves scored off a free kick.

In the second half neither side produced anything remarkable; Ramos put the ball past Pinto only to have the goal disallowed for tugging Alves.

However, the game was very much from over and an Özil assist to Cristiano Ronaldo gave the visitors their first goal. A few minutes later it started looking serious for Barça; Benzema equalised after putting the ball past Puyol.

However, as the final minutes ticked by Madrid lacked the conviction or energy to score one more goal that would have taken them through. Ramos was sent off for a second yellow card and the final whistle went with the best result for Mourinho against Barça to date.

After the match he was heard to say that it was impossible to beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp, something he denied in his monosyllabic press conference after the match.

Tags: Alves, Benzema, clasico, Ozil, Pedro, Real Madrid

Casillas blames loss to Barça on poor marking [Goal.com]

Posted on January 19th, 2012 by admin

Real Madrid’s goal keeper and captain Iker Casillas blamed the host’s poor marking on Barcelona set piece play for his team’s loss at the Bernabeu last night. According to Goal.com he said:

“In the first half we achieved what we wanted to but we found it hard to defend on dead-ball situations. It’s a shame because if we had marked up on the play [that led to Puyol's goal], we would have achieved more,” Casillas told AS after the game.

Once again Real Madrid decided to use brute force against Barça’s skill and although this is one clasico that hasn’t ended in a brawl, defender Pepe has come under widespread criticism throughout the world for some of his actions, particulalrly stamping on Mionel Messi’s hand:

Naturally Jose Mourinho ssaid he didn’t see the incident and there are suggestions in the media that Pepe will face action, but it is up to both Real Madrid and the Spanish League authorities to stamp this kind of behavious out.

Read “Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas: Our marking on set-pieces let us down in Barcelona Copa del Rey loss” at Goal.com

Tags: Abidal, Copa del Rey, Cristiano, Puyol, Real Madrid

Osasuna knocked of of Copa del Rey by FC Barcelona

Posted on January 13th, 2012 by admin

Barcelona arrived to play Osasuna in freezing cold and foggy weather in the second leg of their Copa del Rey last 16 draw. Ofter the 4-0 win in the Nou Camp leg, Barça’s place in teh quarter finals were all but assured and with Real Madrid having seen of Malaga, the prospect of another two clasicos.

Barcelona went a goal down toward the end of the first half, but Ossuna seemed unable to be able to produce anything more during the remainder of the match. Back on after the break with more energy, Alexis quickly equalised; but it wasn’t until the 72nd minute that Sergi Roberto scored the winning goal.

Bad news for Pedro, who will be off for 10 days with a thigh strain. And Fontas was stretchered off after a bad fall and may have a knee injury requiring surgery – if so, that’s it for the rest of the season.

Next Wednesday Barça will travel to the Bernabeu for the first of the Copa del Rey clasicos. The Nou Camp let is the following Wednesday.

Tags: Alexis, Copa del Rey, Fontas, Osasuna, Pedro, Sergi Roberto

Barcelona beats Osasuna in Copa del Rey [USATODAY.com]

Posted on January 5th, 2012 by admin

FC Barcelona won their first match of the new year last night with a 4-0 win against Osasuna. Despite suffering flu and not being expected to play at all, Lionel Messi came on in the second half to score two goals, with the opening two goals scored by Cesc Fabregas.According to USATODAY:

Pep Guardiola’s team has outscored opponents 37-1 in eight straight victories since losing 1-0 at Getafe and hasn’t conceded a goal in 12 straight home games while scoring 53 times.

Read “Barcelona beats Osasuna in Copa del Rey” at USATODAY.com

Tags: Cesc, Cesc Fabregas, Copa del Rey, Lionel Messi, Messi, Osasuna

Barcelona thrash Hospitalet 9-0 in Copa del Rey [BBC Sport]

Posted on December 23rd, 2011 by admin

Fresh from their success in the Club World Cup, FC Barcelona came home to face Hospitalet in the Copa del Rey last night. After the away leg was won by Barça with a single goal, the return match was quite different, with no fewer than 9 goals, all scored by Barcelona. According to the BBC:

Aside from Messi, only Victor Valdes, Eric Abidal and Dani Alves from the regular starting line-up were rested.

The nine-goal rout at the Nou Camp did not come without cost, however, as Iniesta injured his right thigh and will be sidelined for two weeks, while Fabregas also appeared to be hurt in the second half.

Read “Barcelona thrash Hospitalet 9-0 in Copa del Rey” at BBC Sport

Tags: Copa del Rey, Hospitalet

Sole Iniesta strike gives Barcelona Cup edge [Capital Sports]

Posted on November 10th, 2011 by admin

Barcelona beat Hospitalet by a single goal when they travelled the short distance into Catalonia’s second largest town, in fact a suberb of Barcelona. With several regulars called up for national duties, Guardiola fielded some B-team players in front of a surprisingly small crowd. Capital Sports says:

The reigning European champions had to do without several first-team regulars due to international call-ups, but coach Pep Guardiola still sent out a strong starting line-up containing the likes of Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas, David Villa and Iniesta for the short trip to L’Hospitalet, from the Barcelona suburbs.

Read “Sole Iniesta strike gives Barcelona Cup edge” at Capital Sports

Tags: Copa del Rey, Hospitalet, Iniesta

Real Madrid beats Barça to take the 2011 Copa del Rey title

Posted on April 21st, 2011 by admin

Real Madrid put an end to Barça’s ambition for the treble, taking the Copa del Rey title in Valencia last night after scoring the only goal of the match in extra time.

The match started off with tempers flaring and while Barcelona dominated possession as usual, Madrid were also able to show what they’re made of too. However, after the break the Catalans looked far fresher and it looked just a matter of time before they scored.

However, it didn’t happen and in the last few minutes Madrid seemed to have regained some strength. This carried on into extra time, and although Barça were on the offensive, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who scored the only goal of the match,

Of course, last Saturday’s match and last night’s were just a warm up for the real business. The arch-rivals face each other in the Champions League semis, the result of which in many ways, due to their long standing rivalry, will be far more significant than the winner of the Champions League title.

Tags: Real Madrid, Ronaldo

Barça reaches Copa del Rey final for 35th time

Posted on February 3rd, 2011 by admin

Barcelona secured their place in the Copa del Rey final last night after beating Almeria 3-0. It will be Barça’s 35th Copa del Rey final, which will be played on Saturday April 23rd, marked in Catalonia as Sant Jordi’s day – their opponent is Real Madrid.

0-1 Adriano (min 34)
0-2 Thiago (min 56)
0-3 Afellay (min 66)