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Barcelona drew Real Madrid for the Copa del Rey semifinals and it was expected to be a blockbuster of a game, which it was without a doubt. Barcelona started the game without their talisman Lionel Messi, who was on the bench, and their French youngster Ousmane Dembele who was ruled out due to injury.
Real Madrid on the hand started the game with Isco and Bale on the bench, with Vinicius Jr. starting the game for the Los Blancos.
Real Madrid started the game brightly as Benzema slipped Vazquez for the first goal as Real Madrid took the lead in under 10 minutes. Until the first 30 minutes, Real Madrid were attacking Barcelona with intent and it looked set that Barcelona were going to be in for a long night, but the team settled into the game and they created many worthy chances, until Malcom finished his chance in the 57th minute, when the ball rebounded off the post.
After that moment, Messi came on for an inefficient Coutinho and the game was blown wide open as Barcelona took control, but the game ended as a draw which seemed to be a fair result for both sides.
5. Real started brightly but failed to bury the chances created
Real Madrid started the game in spectacular fashion and kept Barcelona behind for the majority of the first half. They deservedly got the lead in the sixth minute via a Lucas Vazquez finish and caused trouble to the Blaugrana defense with intent.
When Barcelona got the equalizer, Real were pretty much in the back foot as they were unable to break them open on counter attacks. Gareth Bale who came on in the second half had failed to finish off the one chance he got to bury the game as Nelson Semedo put in a final ditch tackle to prevent the goal.
Failed chances like these may haunt Real Madrid in the return leg at Bernabeu as Barcelona will potentially have an in-form Ousmane Dembele who will be firing to make an impact.
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4. Nelson Semedo making a statement with his performance
Signed last season from Benfica, Semedo took some time to gel into the Barcelona squad as he struggled with injuries last season which ended up with Sergi Roberto making the right-back spot his own.
This season though, Roberto's poor form and injury has given Semedo a chance to show his worth and he did that by putting in an amazing performance against Real Madrid last night. He won five tackles and had a 100% tackle completion last night and also completed six dribbles on the night, probably his best all-round performance in a Barcelona shirt thus far.
He also won 13 duels and combined well with Malcom down the right, although the pair haven't played together a lot.The duo linked up very well and caused trouble for Real Madrid down the left and left a player of Marcelo's calib exposed.
3. Malcom too good to be left out of the squad
Malcom started the game ahead of an injured Ousmane Dembele and he made a statement as to why he should get more chances than how much he is getting right now. He was outstanding on the night in what was a pretty poor performance from the Blaugrana on the night compared to the standards they have set for themselves.
The Brazilian completed five out of the seven dribbles he attempted and also made three key passes as he was linking up very well down the right with Semedo.
The talent and ability Malcom possesses are to good to be left on the bench and he deserves to be starting week-in week-out for a top team. Although he didn't publicly express his concern over his lack of playtime, given he is just 21 years old he deserves to be playing more than he is.
2. Isco's future hangs in the balance
Ever since the sacking of Julen Lopetegui, Isco has been playing a rather quiet role for Real as he has been freezed out of the squad by Santiago Solari as the latter prefers to play the Spaniard in a bit-part role and he has completed the full 90 minutes only once in the league, and that was under the former manager who was building the squad round Isco.
Solari, contradictory to Lopetegui, has been giving Isco very few minutes and has been left to warm the bench for Real. With Isco not sure about his future involvement with the squad, it could all come down to the duel between Solari and Osco as Perez will be doubtful over losing a prized asset in the form of Isco and will be thinking twice come summer.
1. All to play for in the return fixture at Bernabeu
With the first leg done and dusted, it is all to look forward to in the return fixture with Barcelona back to full strength with the arrival of Dembele from injury and hopefully fully fit Leo Messi against a Real Madrid side who have been on a good run of form of late.
The game will be expected to be more interesting than this game with Real Madrid having the away goal advantage, but Barcelona cannot be counted out because of their devastatingly good attack consisting of Suarez, Messi, Dembele, Coutinho and Malcom against a comparatively weak defense which has been sorely out of form for most of this season.
With Real Madrid having Vinicius, Bale and an in-form Benzema going against the Blaugrana defense which has also been weak this season, it can be a close game and entertainment is all but guaranteed.
