Real Madrid vs. Barcelona
Barcelona wins first leg of Copa del Rey El Clasico over real madrid
Contrary to all expectations, Barcelona won the first game of the Copa del Rey semifinal on Thursday at the Santiago Bernabeu by a score of 1-0. In addition to losing to Manchester United and exiting the Europa League last week, Barcelona also suffered a La Liga loss to Almeria, who are currently in 15th place. In addition to their performance, a Real Madrid victory was anticipated due to the injuries to Ousmane Dembele, Robert Lewandowski, and Pedri. However, Barcelona’s defence only required one opportunity from Franck Kessie to compel Eder Militao into his own goal.
Real Madrid controlled play, preventing Barcelona from generating much of an offence, but Xavi’s improvised defence with Marcos Alonso at centre-back was more than adequate.
Barcelona wins first leg of Copa del Rey El Clasico semi over Real Madrid
Barcelona recovered from a difficult week in the best possible manner, defeating Real Madrid at home for the first time in almost a year to take a 1-0 first-leg lead in the Copa del Rey semifinals.
Real had not suffered a defeat at the Bernabeu since losing 3-2 to Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, though even that “loss” saw Real advance to the next round thanks to the 3-1 victory in the first leg played in London.
Real Madrid team news, injuries, lineup options
Ferland Mendy is still out, while David Alaba injured his hamstring against Liverpool and won’t return until early April. Rodrygo is a doubt after a hip injury.
Barcelona team news, injuries, lineup options
Xavi is without a trio of key players as Robert Lewandowski, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele are all out. Ansu Fati is also a doubt so there’s a lot of pressure on Raphinha and Ferran Torres in the attack.
