Real Madrid took a huge step towards reaching the Copa del Rey
final as they beat local rivals and holders Atletico Madrid 3-0 thanks
to two own goals in their semi-final, first leg on Wednesday.
Barcelona
look set to meet their historical rivals in the final as they took a
2-0 first leg advantage over Real Sociedad in the other semi-final at
the Camp Nou.
Atletico had beaten Real at the Santiago
Bernabeu in last year's final, but the hosts quickly set about making
amends for that defeat as Emiliano Insua deflected Pepe's effort into
his own net after just 17 minutes.
Jese Rodriguez, who
was only starting because of Gareth Bale's late withdrawal from the
squad due to a calf injury, doubled Real's advantage with a low finish
from Angel di Maria's pass just before the hour mark.
Di
Maria was involved again as Real all but secured their place in the
final when his deflected strike 17 minutes from time was credited as
another own goal by Atletico defender Miranda.
Defeat
ends a 24-game unbeaten run for Atletico and they will need a remarkable
fightback to retain their title in the second leg at the Vicente
Calderon on Tuesday.
Real boss Carlo Ancelotti hailed his side's performance as the best since he took over last summer.
"I
think it was (the best performance). Above all because the team we were
facing is a very difficult team to play against. They are very strong
and aggressive, so I thought we played very well," he said.
"I
am completely satisfied. We did everything well, we moved the ball with
pace and were very aggressive without it. I wish the team could always
play like they did tonight."
Diego Simeone
Atletico coach Diego Simeone, meanwhile, was left to rue his side's luck.
"I think Real Madrid played very well, but they scored twice with shots that hit our players on the body and went in.
"It is a very favourable result for the opponent, but apart from that there is nothing I can draw from the game at the moment.
"We still have 90 minutes to play and anything can happen in football."
In
a typically intense encounter it was Real who were posing a more
consistent threat early on and they went in front when Pepe wandered
forward to meet Xabi Alonso's pass and his shot deflected off Insua and
past the helpless Thibaut Courtois.
Miranda nearly
restored parity moments later from Koke's free-kick as Iker Casillas
came to Real's rescue and Atletico also came close to an equaliser just
after half-time Diego Godin headed over from point-blank range.
However,
Real dealt the visitors a sucker punch of a blow just before the hour
mark as Di Maria found Jese with a lovely through ball and the Spanish
under-21 international's effort squeezed under Courtois.
A brilliant goal line clearance from Modric prevented Godin from halving the deficit 18 minutes from time.
And
within 60 seconds, Real had added to their advantage when Di Maria's
long-range effort cannoned off Miranda to once again wrong-foot
Courtois.
Barcelona also had luck on their side as
Enaut Zubikarai's own goal added to Sergio Busquets' opener handed them a
comfortable win over 10-man Sociedad.
Lionel Messi's
drought without a goal from open play extended to five games, but the
Argentine was extremely unlucky not to give his side the lead with a
wonderful free-kick that came back off the underside of the bar.
Jose Manuel Pinto then prevented Barca from going behind as he saved Carlos Vela's effort.
That
stop was to prove vital as a minute later Busquets bundled home the
opener and Inigo Martinez received a straight red card for taking his
protests to the referee too far.
With Sociedad a man
down, Barca went for the kill after half-time but had to rely on a huge
slice of luck to double their advantage as Gorka Elustondo smashed an
intended clearance off his own goalkeeper Zubikarai and the ball
rebounded into the net.
No comments:
Post a Comment