Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid: Copa del Rey semi-final, first leg

Malcom’s spectacular equaliser earned Barcelona a draw against rivals Real Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final at the Nou Camp.

Real went ahead through Lucas Vazquez in the sixth minute following a brilliant assist from Karim Benzema.

Holders Barcelona, who started without Lionel Messi, had stuttered in attack despite the efforts of a bright Malcom.

And the Brazilian deserved his goal to line up a mouth-watering second leg at the Bernabeu on 27 February.

Barcelona, who are aiming for their fifth Copa del Rey in a row, lacked fluidity going forward – and the inspirational Messi who was left on the bench after an injury scare.

And with Gareth Bale also left on the bench for Real it was two Brazilian youngsters – 18-year-old Real forward Vinicius Junior and Malcom, 21, who took centre stage.

This was the first of three El Clasico meetings in less than four weeks, with Real much improved from their 5-1 thrashing the last time the sides met in La Liga in October.

Real have the chance to move above city rivals Atletico Madrid in La Liga with a derby win on Saturday, while leaders Barcelona travel to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Check Also

Iraqi PM addresses negligence and promises care for Al-Hamdaniyah incident victims

The Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani has made a statement regarding the tragic Al-Hamdaniyah …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *