FC Barcelona channelled their La Liga form into Copa Del Rey as they reached the Semi-Finals beating Real Sociedad 1-0 in Camp Nou. Real Madrid beat city rivals Atletico 3-1 in which the winning goals came in extra time. The semi-finals draw will happen on Monday, as it will likely be an El Clasico semi-final. If that is the case, we will see the second-ever matchup between the two World Football giants this season.
The lone goal of the match between Barcelona and Sociedad came from the boot of Ousmane Dembale as he thumped a shot to which the goalkeeper had no answers. Sociedad was down to ten men in the first half when Brais Mendez picked up a red card for a dangerous tackle on Sergio Busquets. Barcelona could pounce on the numerical advantage as a Jules Kounde through ball found the fellow French man Ousmane Dembele. His speed and prowess came into the picture as he ran a good forty yards before unleashing the decisive shot. Alexander Sorlot missed a sitter as his intended tap-in agonisingly flew over the bar. Barcelona hit the crossbar twice in the match, while at the end of the game Ter Stegen and co earned a clean sheet, and they advanced to the semi-finals.
In the Santiago Bernabeu, Atletico took the lead through former Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata. A beautifully constructed goal from Atletico stunned the packed Santiago Bernabeu crowd. After conceding, Real Madrid started attacking football, whereas Atletico sat back and defended. The Atleti defence stood firm until the 79th minute when Rodrygo scored a stunner. He channelled his inner Ronaldo Nazario as he skipped from a Witsel tackle and toyed with three Atleti defenders before finally putting the ball in the back of the net. Extra time was imminent as both sides shared the honours on regular time. Stefan Savic got his marching orders in the 99th minute as he received his second yellow card for a clumsy tackle on Eduardo Camavigna. Five minutes later, Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema came in clutch to give Real Madrid the lead. Man down, Atletico tried to come back to the match, but all went in vain as the Los Blancos sealed the deal with a stunning solo goal from Vinicius Junior. He received the ball from the halfway line and ran past an outnumbered, struggling Atleti defence to finally unleash the shot that went past Oblak like a tracer bullet. He then proceeds to make his signature dance move to which he received racial abuse from Atletico fans last year.
The first leg of the Semi-Finals will take place in the first week of February, and the second is expected to be completed by March.
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