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Barcelona has booked themselves a spot in the Copa Del Rey final once again this year, beating Real Madrid by three goals in front of the Santiago Bernebau faithful. Luis Suarez scored twice and forced a Raphael Varane own goal as Real continued their terrible home record for Clasicos, having won just 4 of the last 17 Clasicos they've hosted.
For those who saw the game, you've got to laugh a little. Madrid were absolutely dominant in the first 50 minutes of the game, creating the better chances and not letting Barcelona trouble Keylor Navas at all in the first half. Barcelona hit Madrid below the belt as Suarez was fed brilliantly by Ousmane Dembele and El Pistolero made no mistake in giving his side the crucial away goal they coveted. That goal threw Madrid into a state of chaos, and it was good in a way, as they created a boatload of attractive chances with nothing to show for, as poor finishing and a defiant Ter Stegen stood between Madrid and the final tonight.
After more than 15 minutes of total dominance post conceding, Madrid lost possession cheaply and Semedo was allowed to burst forward with the ball. He slid a simple pass to Dembele, Barcelona's man of the match, who rolled the ball towards the face of the goal, where WC Winner Varane was forced to put it in his own net by the relentless Luis Suarez.
This humbling makes it the sixth consecutive year that Barcelona have advanced to the finals of the Copa Del Rey, and their opponents will be either Betis or Valencia, who are yet to play their second leg. Here are some observations from the game.
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#1 The penalty call that never came
A lot of people may not agree, but Vincius was fouled in the box by Sergi Roberto in the 15th minute, as the Spaniard raked the back of the Brazilian's ankle, and despite several replays being shown during the telecast, VAR apparently didn't see enough in it, or the on-field referee didn't, who knows? It's still a little confusing to me sometimes as to how exactly calls are made with VAR and who decides to pull play back to a previous infraction.
What do Keiran Trippier and VAR have in common? Pretty good at the WC but since then, quite horrific, to be honest.
#2 Barcelona were fortunate, clinical.
Real Madrid put in one of their most vibrant performances against a massive opponent this season. Vinicius was linking up with everyone as if they'd been playing with the kid for years, and chances were flowing for Real, who looked certain to score almost every time they drove forward. Unfortunately for them, they were denied by their own inexperience, bad luck and the wall we know as Ter Stegen.
Barcelona did not have a vintage performance by any standards, as Real ran rampant, creating chances at will, but they were unable to find that killer touch to make all of it count. Barcelona took the chances they got, few and far as they were, and rightfully advance to the final for a historic sixth consecutive time.
#3 Solari's faith in youth puts the club in a limbo
Reguilon showed why he has been picked over Marcelo once again tonight as he put in a wonderful performance for more than 60 minutes, after which the whole side just gave up. Rather shamefully might I add. But nonetheless, Reguilon put in another top class shift, putting Marcelo's position at the club in more and more jeopardy with each passing game. Lucas Vasquez and Vinicius have knocked out Bale, Mariano and Asensio from the forward spot races with their terrific understanding and great end results.
The amount of trust being placed on these young shoulders might be a lot for a regular footballer out there, but here at Real there are no regular footballers, and being in abundance of too many options can lead to disgruntlement amongst a squad of players who like to believe they all share a similarly strong skill-set. Offloading players like Bale, Marcelo etc would be quite practical but also extremely disrespectful.
#4 Suarez has still got it
Luis Suarez, the man who just loves a Clasico goal more so than anyone else, turned up in style tonight against the 3 times reigning European Champions in their own backyard. The Uruguayan striker has been having some troubles on the field this year, having just ended a dry spell that had been going on since December last year.
El Pistolero struck again tonight, with his extremely efficient ability to run into balls and hit them in his stride. The first goal was an absolute sucker punch for the Bernebau faithful, and Madrid started to produce more chances again right up until Luis Suarez forced Raphael Varane and Dani Carvajal to slot the ball in their own net after Ousmane Dembele slid it in front of the face of the goal to cause panic amongst the defenders. Which it did, and that resulted to the second goal.
The third goal was a cheeky Panenka that he'd won himself, as he sent Keylor Navas diving before striking it another way in the calmest of fashions to make it a brace for him tonight. Finished? Far from it.
#5 Vinicius is the most frightening Madrid attacker by a mile
It is a rare commodity to find a single person who makes it worth tuning into the game just to see how they do. That's Vinicius for you. He'll take risks, he's dynamic and loves to run straight at opponents, who looked confused and frightened seeing the little kid from Flamengo advance at them with the ball at his feet.
He always had one runner around him, trying to restrict any dramatic movements, who despite all this heavy marking still gets to make more than a few clear cut chances for himself and his team. At one point he had Pique shaking and then down to the floor, and the resulting shot was just wide as it took a deflection. Vinicius could easily have had a hat-trick tonight had it not been for his lack of experience and killer instinct in front of the goal.
