Barcelona rallies to deny Real once again
Source: Agencies |
January 20, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BARCELONA got the better of archrival Real Madrid again on Wednesday with Eric Abidal scoring a rare goal to give his team a 2-1 win in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.
Abidal chested down Lionel Messi's scooped pass inside the area before flicking a left-footed shot under goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the 77th minute for just his second goal with the Catalan club. The Frenchman's first also came in the domestic cup competition.
Just as it did in a 1-3 loss last month, Madrid started well with Cristiano Ronaldo giving the hosts the lead after 11 minutes from a quick counter.
But Madrid's aggressive defense gave in after Pepe was booked in the 17th, and Barcelona equalized in the 49th when Carles Puyol ran into the area untouched to head in Xavi Hernandez's corner.
The win continued Barcelona's recent domination of Madrid, as the defending league champions picked up their ninth victory in 13 games since Pep Guardiola took over as coach. Madrid's lone win in that stretch came in last year's Copa final in April, and the two are now even with 86 victories each in the all-time series.
"Sooner or later this has to end. There's no way you can continue such a streak in such an important (stadium)," Guardiola said after marking his 41st birthday with a fifth coaching victory at the Santiago Bernabeu. "While it's true we've dominated them that doesn't give us any advantage before the return leg."
Madrid's players faces became increasingly frustrated in the second half as Barcelona took control of the game once again against its biggest rival, which often showed nerves when it came into possession of the ball.
Few chances
Madrid's few chances came on counterattacks, including Ronaldo's opener. The Portugal forward netted his fourth career goal against the Catalans after running onto Pepe's long pass and striking a left-footed shot between the legs of backup keeper Jose Manuel Pinto, who played in place of Victor Valdes. Pinto was the lone change from the team that won in the league at the Santiago Bernabeu in December.
Real keeper Iker Casillas was lucky when Alexis Sanchez floated a header off the woodwork, but then kept Messi's shot from sneaking in at near post in the 26th as Barcelona gradually took over the match. "We got to halftime without conceding and the result was in our favor," Casillas said. "But in the second half another set play hurt us, we've had problems with these (this season)."
Earlier, Fernando Llorente and Iker Muniain headed in goals either side of halftime to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 victory over Mallorca in the first leg of their series.
Abidal chested down Lionel Messi's scooped pass inside the area before flicking a left-footed shot under goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the 77th minute for just his second goal with the Catalan club. The Frenchman's first also came in the domestic cup competition.
Just as it did in a 1-3 loss last month, Madrid started well with Cristiano Ronaldo giving the hosts the lead after 11 minutes from a quick counter.
But Madrid's aggressive defense gave in after Pepe was booked in the 17th, and Barcelona equalized in the 49th when Carles Puyol ran into the area untouched to head in Xavi Hernandez's corner.
The win continued Barcelona's recent domination of Madrid, as the defending league champions picked up their ninth victory in 13 games since Pep Guardiola took over as coach. Madrid's lone win in that stretch came in last year's Copa final in April, and the two are now even with 86 victories each in the all-time series.
"Sooner or later this has to end. There's no way you can continue such a streak in such an important (stadium)," Guardiola said after marking his 41st birthday with a fifth coaching victory at the Santiago Bernabeu. "While it's true we've dominated them that doesn't give us any advantage before the return leg."
Madrid's players faces became increasingly frustrated in the second half as Barcelona took control of the game once again against its biggest rival, which often showed nerves when it came into possession of the ball.
Few chances
Madrid's few chances came on counterattacks, including Ronaldo's opener. The Portugal forward netted his fourth career goal against the Catalans after running onto Pepe's long pass and striking a left-footed shot between the legs of backup keeper Jose Manuel Pinto, who played in place of Victor Valdes. Pinto was the lone change from the team that won in the league at the Santiago Bernabeu in December.
Real keeper Iker Casillas was lucky when Alexis Sanchez floated a header off the woodwork, but then kept Messi's shot from sneaking in at near post in the 26th as Barcelona gradually took over the match. "We got to halftime without conceding and the result was in our favor," Casillas said. "But in the second half another set play hurt us, we've had problems with these (this season)."
Earlier, Fernando Llorente and Iker Muniain headed in goals either side of halftime to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 victory over Mallorca in the first leg of their series.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
