Barca defeated Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final
Barcelona bounced back from a losing streak to beat Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg.
Eder Militao’s own goal separated the teams at the Bernabeu even though the hosts had more possession and chances.
It was a welcome result for Barca after losing to Manchester United in the Europa League and Almeria in La Liga.
Xavi’s team defended deep after taking the lead and their discipline held a narrow advantage to take them into the second leg at the Camp Nou on April 5.
Barca’s defense dug deep
Barça are top of La Liga, but Xavi’s side will be feeling fragile after missing out on Europe and a league defeat at the weekend.
The former midfielder made five changes to his starting team, including four new defenders.
The key opening moment of the action was Vinicius Junior throwing Frenkie de Jong to the turf via a headlock, but it was the visitors who took the lead – and in comical circumstances.
In Barca’s first attack of the game, Franck Kessie’s shot was saved by Thibaut Courtois but deflected off Militao and into the net.
Nacho, the centre-back, tried to clear the ball off the line, but could not save his teammate’s embarrassment.
It was initially disallowed for offside, but VAR showed that Raphinha had moved early, he had not interfered with the play when Kessie leveled and as a result the goal stayed.
Barca’s defense has conceded just eight goals in 23 league games this season and despite extensive changes in personnel, the back line was strong again on Thursday.
The visitors’ attack was largely toothless without the injured pair of Robert Lewandowski and Ousmane Dembele – although they could easily have grabbed a second goal had Ansu Fati not blocked Kessie’s shot.
Former Manchester City striker Ferran Torres, who joined the Catalan club last January, is quiet again while another former Premier League player, ex-Leeds winger Raphinha, is largely anonymous.
It was a performance with some of the hallmarks of a good Barca team Xavi managed, but the team he manages knows how to get the job done – at least in domestic football.
Madrid couldn’t make possession count
Real looked highly motivated from the start, perhaps with memories of their poor performance in January’s Super Cup loss to their rivals still fresh in their minds.
As was the case with Liverpool last week, when Carlo Ancelotti’s side find their stride, they can beat their opponents – and it looks like that could happen in the early stages.
Luka Modric scored for his side in the first minute after beating the offside trap before Karim Benzema controlled well and finished the volley from Vinicius Jr’s cross.
In the second half, Federico Valverde’s effort that was saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen was the closest the home team came.
Madrid continued to dominate possession until the end and will know that they will have to overturn the deficit at home to their great rivals if they are to prevent Barca from completing a domestic Treble.
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