3 reasons why Real Madrid lost to Barcelona in Copa del Rey Semi-Final 1st leg clash
Real Madrid lost to Barca: Barcelona drew first blood in the Copa del Rey semi-finals as they beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the first leg last night.
Real Madrid defender, Militao scored an own goal to ensure Barca gain a 1-0 advantage ahead of next month’s crucial 2nd leg clash.
Hence, the result here was one objective achieved but Barca know Real Madrid aren’t out of the contest yet.
Real Madrid have now gone winless in two matches across competitions at the Bernabeu following last night’s defeat. We look at three impactful reasons why Real Madrid lost to Barca in the 1st leg clash.
Ineffective in front of goal
Real Madrid’s attacking quality were poor in the 1st leg with the home side not even having one shot on target.
Out of the 6 efforts, Real Madrid had none on target, which proved to be a bad night for the likes of Benzema, Valverde and Vinicius.
Real Madrid failed to have a shot on goal in a home match for the first time since 2010 😱 pic.twitter.com/iKgPaXKKAf
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 2, 2023
The home side have been one of the most effective sides across Europe this season, but a misfiring night sees them 1-0 down in this tie.
Lacklustre on the field
Not only were the strikers ineffective on the night, but the whole team in general looked out of sorts.
Despite having good possession at the start of either half, Real Madrid did not like the team that recently beat Liverpool in the UCL.
Usually in crucial clashes such as this one, Real Madrid are at the top of their game but it wasn’t to be.
VinÃcius Jr. is now the forward with the most yellow cards across La Liga, the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España this season 😳
🟨 x9 pic.twitter.com/v3FL8Vo8hu
— LiveScore (@livescore) March 2, 2023
Vinicius Junior, Valverde were given bookings in this clash, making them more cautious for the rest of the contest.
It was due to the pressure of missing out in the 2nd leg that these 2 players weren’t at their best for the home side.
Xavi’s game plan worked well
Also read: 5 teams with highest win % in 2023 from Europe’s top 5 leagues across competitions
Real Madrid could not challenge Barcelona particularly in the final 3rd as the visitors were defensively sound.
Lewandowski, Pedri were missing this one due to injuries and the Catalan side had to change the team’s style of play.
Real Madrid have now lost six of the last 10 El Clasico’s played at the Bernabeu 😳 pic.twitter.com/33tvRt9dGk
— LiveScore (@livescore) March 2, 2023
Barcelona’s sound defensive way did not give Madrid much of a chance. Real Madrid lacked the spring in their step to unsettle Xavi’s team.
The likes of Busquets, de Jong did a fantastic job in not letting Real Madrid dominate them.
