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Madrid Derby to Decide Copa Del Rey

admin — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:48:59 +0000

Last night, Atletico Madrid confirmed their place in the Copa Del Rey final with a 4-3 aggregate win against Sevilla. This means Madrid Derby will decide the competition as Diego Simeone men will compete against Real Madrid for the title who ousted reigning champions Barcelona in the semis.
Going into the second leg versus Sevilla, Atletico had a 2-1 advantage and it only took them less than half an hour to add two more goals, which meant the tie was virtually out of reach for the home side. Having gone 4-1 behind on aggregate and more importantly conceded 2 away goals, Sevilla needed 4 goals to progress.
However, the home side kept their heads up and tried to make a comeback but were only able to score twice, Navas and Rakitic were on target as Sevilla had to bow out of the Copa Del Rey.
Copa Del Rey is perhaps the last chance for Atletico to win silverware this season as they were recently eliminated from the Europa League and are no less than 12 points behind league leaders Barcelona with only 13 games left in La Liga.
With Champions League football almost guaranteed for the next season, Atletico will look to put all their efforts in the final to somehow beat Los Blancos who are in brilliant form.
Mourinho’s men have already defeated Atletico in the league this season. Ronaldo and Ozil were on target to defeat the rivals 2-0 at the Bernabeu. Not only that, Real are also chasing second place in the league that is currently occupied by Atletico. Los Blancos are only 4 points behind them in third place.
The reigning Europa League champions will win their second title in as many seasons if they beat Real Madrid in the final of Copa Del Rey but it goes without saying that it will be a towering task for Diego Simeone’s side.
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Barca Favorites after Score Draw at Bernabeu

admin — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:10:20 +0000

Barca favorites to qualify for the finals of Copa Del Rey as the first leg ended 1-1 at the Bernabeu. The Catalans take home a vital away goal for the second leg.
The clash of the two Spanish Giants was yet another classic. Madrid did not have 5 first team players in the lineup due to injury and suspensions. The most notable absence was that of captain Iker Cassilas, so Diego Lopez started in the goal for Los Blancos.
Despite all their absentees, the home side started the game brightly and were more threatening than their opponents in the first 45 minutes. Ronaldo and Ozil did create openings in the first half but failed to take advantage of any.
On the other hand, visitor’s attacking threat was largely diminished by the impressive youngster Raphael Varane. He was without a doubt man of the match on the day with a commanding performance in the defense and adding to that scored the equalizer late in the second half to rescue Real Madrid.
Both teams created several chances in the first half but frenetic first 45 minutes ended as 0-0. Madrid started the second half very similar to the way they started first. However, despite having an upper hand, Madrid went behind thanks to Cesc Fabregas, who scored in the 50th minute from a Lionel Messi pass. One just cannot mark the little Argentine out of the game these days.
The former Arsenal captain could have doubled Barcelona’s lead but once again it was Varane who kept Fabregas out with a brilliantly timed challenge. Later Cristiano Ronaldo squandered a wonderful chance to equalize as Essien provided a teasing ball from the right but the Portuguese failed to test Barca’s goalie from close range.
As the match entered the final 15 minutes, the visitors were seemingly keen on holding onto the lead and Madrid were piling constant pressure. Eventually in the 81st minute, the home side did draw level as Varane scored with a thumping header from Mesut Ozil’s free kick. The second leg will be played on 26th February where Barca will be favorites to quality in the Camp Nou.

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Barca See Off Malaga in an Exciting Contest

Gooty — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:13:50 +0000

Barca finally see off Malaga to set up a classic semifinal clash with rivals Real Madrid. The second leg was an exciting contest. Going into the game, Barcelona knew they had to score having conceded 2 goals at Camp Nou.
The visitors started in style as they attacked Malaga constantly. Their efforts paid dividends and in the 8th minute as Pedro headed the ball in the net from a delightful cross by Dani Alves.
Having taken the lead, Barca lost concentration and Malaga took full advantage as Joaquin equalized from inside the area in 12th minute. The goal meant that Barcelona had to score again to qualify for the semifinals and they nearly did as Demichellis mistake set up Lionel Messi, but his strike was saved my Malaga’s goalie Kameni.
The scoreline remained the same as the teams went into the dressing room with the home side having the advantage. However, 4 minutes into the second half, Pique restored Barca’s lead. The Spaniard controlled a wonder ball provided by Iniesta and scored with a left footed drive to make it 2-1.
Malaga having gone behind, constantly attacked the visitors. Leo Messi missed a brilliant chance as Kameni saved again in the 68th minute and Fabregas got injured in looking to score from the rebound. Malaga on the other hand counter attacked swiftly and Roque Santa Cruz struck a brilliant low strike in the net to equalize.
Mascherano got booked for complaining about why the game was not stopped when Fabregas was lying injured. At 2-2, the game was heading to extra time with only 20 odd minutes remaining, but Barcelona were never going to stay back as they piled up pressure on Malaga’s defense and in the 76th minute Fabregas setup Iniesta who made no mistake to slot the ball home from 8 yards to make it 3-2.
The goal meant that now the home side had to score 2 more to qualify but any hopes of a comeback was blown away by Barcelona as they scored 4th of the night. Dani Alves once again provided a superb ball to Messi who easily headed the ball in the net to make it 4-2.
Barcelona will now face Los Blancos in the semifinals of Copa Del Rey much to the excitement of the supporters worldwide. Madrid will be looking to beat their rivals to somehow earn a shot at winning a Spanish title this season as they are seemingly almost out of La Liga title race.

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Copa del Rey – Atletico Cruise Past Betis

admin — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:22:27 +0000

Atletico Madrid take healthy lead for the second leg as they defeated Real betis 2-0 in the first leg of the quarter finals last night. Diego Simeone’s men cruise past Betis with early first half goals to take one step closer to the semi finals of Copa del Rey.
Thibaut Courtois, the keeper loaned from Chelsea came up with decent performance on the night to make sure that his side does not concede. The Belgian goalie diminished all the hopes of a comeback for the away side. At the half hour mark, Courtois made a fantastic double save to keep out the visitors.
Adding to his brilliant first 45 minutes performance, the former Genk goalie came up with another significant block in the opening minutes of the second period when he denied Jorge Molina’s strike to maintain the clean sheet.
On the other hand, the prolific Falcao was not going to be out of spotlight as he opened the scoring for the home side in the 11th minute.
The Colombian pounced on to a cross provided by Raul Garcia and did what he does best, blasting the ball in the net to give Atletico a deserved lead. 12 minutes later , Betis were unable to clear Mario Suarez’s free kick and Filipe Luis capitalized on the opportunity with a fantastic finish to make it 2-0.
The visitors relatively played better in the second half, controlling the ball well and keeping possession but failed to take advantage of any chance as Atletico’s defense was resilient in diffusing the opposition’s attacking threat.
Copa del Rey is perhaps Atletico’s best chance of winning silverware this season. Although they are currently 2nd in the league but Barca have a healthy lead and are getting stronger by the minute. On the other hand, retaining Europa league will be a tough task as well.
Diego Simeone will be looking to finish the job with ease in the second leg. The winner will lock horns with either Sevilla or Real Zaragoza in the last four of the competition and Atletico will be favorites to reach the final and have all the chance to lift the coveted trophy.

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