Real and Barca still in it after Camp Nou draw
Return leg to decide who goes to Copa del Rey final
Barcelona – Neither claimed a clear advantage but Barcelona and Real Madrid each had cause for optimism following a frantic 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal on Wednesday night.
“The result does not point to any clear favourite,” Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said after the match.
“The tie is open,” said Madrid’s Santiago Solari. “Anything can happen.”
Barcelona will have Lionel Messi available again for the return on February 27, after their captain was deemed fit enough for only 27 minutes of a compelling opener at Camp Nou.
The thigh strain he sustained against Valencia last weekend is considered minor, with Valverde hopeful he will be able to start against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
“If he is okay to play, he will but if he is not right, he won’t,” Valverde said. “But we hope he will be fine.”
Barcelona were sloppy for the best part of half an hour on Wednesday and Madrid might have taken the tie away from them had Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema shown the same precision as Lucas Vazquez did in the sixth minute. Barca kept the deficit to one and then took hold of the contest, their midfield seizing control before a nervy last
10 minutes.
The only surprise was that Malcom’s equaliser before the hour had not come sooner but Valverde’s side saved their best for the second leg in each of the previous rounds, and he will feel they are well-placed.
Madrid will take heart too, from a purposeful early spell that rattled
Barcelona and then an extended show of resilience.
“Comparisons are unhelpful,” said Solari. “But it shows how hard the teams have worked.”
Real face Atletico Madrid tomorrow in La
Liga, when a win would see them jump above their city rivals into second on the table.
Fixtures
Today: Real Valladolid v Villarreal
Tomorrow: Getafe v Celta Vigo; Atlético Madrid v Real Madrid; Espanyol v Rayo Vallecano; Girona v Huesca
Sunday: Leganes v Real Betis; Valencia v Real Sociedad; Sevilla v Eibar; Athletic Club v Barcelona