Barcelona, Spain.
A more colorful and decisive version of Ousmane Dembélé short-circuited Real Sociedad’s plan at the Spotify Camp Nou (1-0), as he dismissed Brais Méndez, playing in inferiority complex for more than half the game, pushing FC Barcelona to the semi-finals. of the King’s Cup.
After a remarkable first half, Barca’s 52nd-minute whip from ‘Mosquito’ ended a tense battle. In the closing stages of the game, Marc-Andre der Stegen equalized twice for the Basque team.
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The Camp Nou remains Real Sociedad’s cursed ground, almost 32 years without Barca winning the fiefdom. A 31st match winless win in Barcelona ended the hopes of ‘Mosquito’ Thaksuri Urdin.
Xavi promised a great game at the press conference. And his team delivered on that promise in the first half. The same eleven players who had already shone against Real Madrid (3-1) in the final of the Spanish Super Cup left. Barca wanted it again with a four midfielders of De Jong, Busquets, Gavi and Petri. In the first two qualifiers, the Ekarensen coach didn’t even replace Inági Pena in goal.
Ter Stegen, decisive in the second half, was put under the sticks, but in the first 45 minutes he gave a magistrate lesson in how to deal with Real Sociedad’s pressure with precise movements looking for the free man. Some of his team’s clearest arrivals in the first half came like this, with a devilish Dembele down the right wing.
The ever-unpredictable French striker is a star on the right. His quick dribbles and precise first-touch touches drove the Basque defenders crazy, especially left-back Diego Rico, but the Blacrana footballers started the game with wet gunpowder.
Man of the match A personal drive from midfield ended with a slightly deflected shot from the edge of the area. The Frenchman reappeared moments later when he found an inside pass that didn’t find a target for Frankie de Jong.
Earlier, they canceled out Lewandowski, who reunited with the referee who sent him off against Osasuna in the league, with Frenkie de Jong scoring a goal for clear offside. The Dutchman, who was in an advanced position, touched the ball before it entered the goal.
Despite Barca’s dominance, Real, true to their style, did not give the ball away and looked to be the best man in sub-midfielder Pablo Marin to push back those coming towards Ter Stegen’s goal. The play came from his boots as Dak Kubo’s left foot bounced off the crossbar.
A Japanese shot was the best chance for Imanol Alguaziel’s side until Bryce Mendes was sent off (min.41).
The midfielder, who Jesus Gil Manzano had already threatened with reprimand for an earlier attack on Lewandowski, arrived at the wrong time in an incident with Sergio Busquets, who was given a template on the ankle. VAR notified the referee, who initially showed a yellow card, and finally decided to send him off with a straight red card.
The game was difficult for txuri urdin’s team, which, in a low mood, abandoned the pressure on Barça and looked for their options with direct football. Immanuel Alguacil moved the bench at the restart as he brought on Ander Baranetxia for Wiersbaul to send off Dembele’s first-half victim Diego Rico.
But even Ihen Munoz couldn’t stop the ‘Mosquito’ as he raced into space in the 52nd minute, turned on the sixth gear, and just when Alex Remiro thought he was going to help Lewandowski, he found a powerful whip that ended up in the net.
The goal calmed Barça, a recurring feature in recent games. And the Basque team did not hesitate to take advantage of it. Barca’s dominance on the ball evaporated and their rival, even in the inferior position, put Barca’s defense into trouble.
Real grabbed the tie after a clear chance through Alexander Zorloth. The Norwegian giant just missed inside the six-yard box after Kubo’s accurate assist.
After a ten-minute nap, Barça returned to regain intensity. The ball moved fluidly again and Dembele’s mischief reappeared on the right wing. A cross from the man of the match was picked up by Kavi inside the area, but the crossbar prevented the Andalusian from scoring.
Barcelona did not finish the match and Real Sociedad went ahead in search of an equalizer in the final minutes. Robert Navarro got it in the 87th minute when he didn’t know how to capitalize on Ter Stegen’s poor outing as he avoided the goal with his right hand. At the other end, Carlos Fernandez was scoreless. In the final play of the game, another powerful shot from Olasagasti was denied by the German goalkeeper.
Barca are three games away from lifting the trophy thanks to Dembele’s rhythm and Ter Stegen’s iron determination.
– Datasheet:
1 – Barcelona: Der Stegen; Conte, Araujo, Christensen (Marcos Alonso, min. 90+1), Balte (Rabinha, min. 78); Sergio Busquets, Petri (Gessie, min.77), Frenkie de Jong; Dembele (Anzu Fati, min.84), Lewandowski and Kavi.
0 – Royal Society: I am Remir; Elustondo, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Rico (Aihen Muñoz, min.46); Zubimendi, Bryce Mendes, Pablo Marin (Olasagasti, min.78); Oyarzabal (Barrenetxea, min.46), tag Kubo (Robert Navarro, min.78) and Sorloth (Carlos Fernández, min.87).
Objectives: 1-0, min.52: Dembele.
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Extreme Group). He dismissed Bryce Mendes (min.41). He instructed Busquets (min.56), Petri (min.59), Zubimenti (min.65).
Incidents: The Copa del Rey quarter-final was played at Camp Nou in front of 59,610 spectators. Ahead of the match, the Barcelona women’s volleyball team presented the title to the Princess Cup.
