Barca, Real Madrid close in on King's Cup final
Real Madrid left defending champion Atletico Madrid on the verge of elimination from the Copa del Rey, winning Wednesday's first leg of their semifinal clash 3-0.
It did not take Real long to forge ahead, as Pepe's effort struck Emiliano Insua and flew past Thibaut Courtois after 17 minutes, delighting the home fans.
Pepe endured a bruising duel with Atletico's Diego Costa throughout the first half, but the defender came out on top and Real doubled their lead in the second half when Jese Rodriguez placed a clever finish under the goalkeeper.
The hosts wrapped up the win and went a long way to securing their final berth as Angel Di Maria saw his long-range effort deflect off Miranda before beating Courtois with 17 minutes left.
Defeat for Atletico ended their unbeaten run in all competitions at 23 matches, while Real have now not lost for the same number of games.
The second leg is set for next Tuesday at Atletico's Vicente Calderon stadium.
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Meanwhile, Barcelona will take a 2-0 aggregate advantage into Basque country for the second leg of this Copa del Rey semifinal against Real Sociedad following Wednesday’s victory at Camp Nou.
Sergio Busquets gave the Primera Division champions the lead just before half-time - moments after Sociedad had had a decent penalty shout turned down when Carlos Vela appeared to be tugged down by Javier Mascherano. Inigo Martinez could not hide his frustration and was dismissed for dissent.
With the man advantage, Barca chipped away at the La Real defense and finally added a second goal in the 60th minute thanks to what can only be described as a sadly comical own-goal.
Alexis Sánchez cut across the top of the box, taking a pass from Fàbregas and hammering it off the far post. The ball ricocheted back cross the face of goal to Gorka Elustondo, whose clearance attempt hit Zubikarai's back and rolled across the line.
The hosts continued to push forwards looking to give themselves an even more substantial cushion heading into next Wednesday's second leg in San Sebastian - Pedro's shot flew narrowly over while Messi stretched for a left-footed volley which Zubikarai did well to save - but the third goal was not forthcoming.
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It did not take Real long to forge ahead, as Pepe's effort struck Emiliano Insua and flew past Thibaut Courtois after 17 minutes, delighting the home fans.
Pepe endured a bruising duel with Atletico's Diego Costa throughout the first half, but the defender came out on top and Real doubled their lead in the second half when Jese Rodriguez placed a clever finish under the goalkeeper.
The hosts wrapped up the win and went a long way to securing their final berth as Angel Di Maria saw his long-range effort deflect off Miranda before beating Courtois with 17 minutes left.
Defeat for Atletico ended their unbeaten run in all competitions at 23 matches, while Real have now not lost for the same number of games.
The second leg is set for next Tuesday at Atletico's Vicente Calderon stadium.
Buy Real Madrid tickets and FC Barcelona tickets securely online now!!
Meanwhile, Barcelona will take a 2-0 aggregate advantage into Basque country for the second leg of this Copa del Rey semifinal against Real Sociedad following Wednesday’s victory at Camp Nou.
Sergio Busquets gave the Primera Division champions the lead just before half-time - moments after Sociedad had had a decent penalty shout turned down when Carlos Vela appeared to be tugged down by Javier Mascherano. Inigo Martinez could not hide his frustration and was dismissed for dissent.
With the man advantage, Barca chipped away at the La Real defense and finally added a second goal in the 60th minute thanks to what can only be described as a sadly comical own-goal.
Alexis Sánchez cut across the top of the box, taking a pass from Fàbregas and hammering it off the far post. The ball ricocheted back cross the face of goal to Gorka Elustondo, whose clearance attempt hit Zubikarai's back and rolled across the line.
The hosts continued to push forwards looking to give themselves an even more substantial cushion heading into next Wednesday's second leg in San Sebastian - Pedro's shot flew narrowly over while Messi stretched for a left-footed volley which Zubikarai did well to save - but the third goal was not forthcoming.
About 1st4FootballTickets.com: Thousands of football tickets are on sale on Europe's biggest football ticketing website: We have English Premier League tickets, Capital One Cup Final tickets, German football tickets and Dutch football tickets. But also other football cup tickets such as FIFA World Cup Tickets and Champions League Final tickets.
