Barcelona wins over Real Madrid the second classic of the week
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The resounding victory of Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinal was not the end of Real Madrid's problems, which lost again at home against their eternal rival
Valverde's squad, with a defensively relentless squad, defeated Real Madrid again at Real Madrid's home: the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. 1-0 was the final score. This victory complemented the previous one, 3 to 0 in the semifinal of the Copa del Rey, just this Wednesday, and put Barcelona above Real Madrid in the history of direct matches for the first time in 87 years.
Leer en español: Barcelona le quita al Real Madrid el segundo clásico de la semana
While Real Madrid has won 95 direct matches to Barcelona, with today's victory the Catalans reach 96. In addition, Barcelona became the first club in history to win twice at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in a span of 72 hours
While the goals on the previous occasion came courtesy of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, this time it was the Croatian Rakitic who put Barcelona ahead in the first half, an advantage that Madrid couldn't reverse in what remained of the game.
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On this occasion Barcelona did not depend on explosive demonstrations to attack to get the victory, instead, they opting to defend the advantage that brought Rakitic's goal through defensive discipline and intelligent possession. A pair of inspired centers, Piqué and Lenglet, made sure that Madrid did not enjoy freedom in front of the goal.
The Merengue team managed to get 17 shots during the game, but only three of them fell under the three sticks, cementing a relatively quiet afternoon for Ter Stegen.
With this defeat, Madrid seems to be running out of La Liga and Barcelona seems to have everything under control. The team of Solari still has the hope of a good season in the Champions League to not stay blank in what has probably been the most difficult season for the club in recent history.
LatinAmerican Post | Pedro Bernal
Copy edited by Vanesa López Romero
