The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Copa del Rey

  • Things to know as Atletico clash with Barcelona in Copa del Rey second leg

    Things to know as Atletico clash with Barcelona in Copa del Rey second leg

    Barcelona, following a dominant victory over Girona that kept them at the top of La Liga, are now set to face Atlético Madrid in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday night at the Estadio Metropolitano. The tie remains wide open after a dramatic 4-4 draw in the first leg, which has been one of the most thrilling encounters of the season. Atlético Madrid, who are now out of the Champions League, will be fully focused on the Copa del Rey, as it’s their last opportunity for silverware. A trophy-less season would be considered a failure for Diego Simeone’s team, and they will go all out in this crucial match.

    Barcelona, aware of the intense atmosphere and the stakes involved, must be prepared for a potentially grueling 120 minutes of play, with the possibility of extra time or penalties. The game will be a high-pressure encounter between two of Europe’s top teams, despite Atlético’s recent struggles in the league. Hansi Flick has proven to be adept at handling big games and making key tactical decisions, and Barcelona will need his expertise to push through against a motivated Atlético side. The match promises to be a dramatic battle, with both teams desperate for a place in the final.

    Real Madrid also advanced to the Copa del Rey final after a dramatic 4-4 draw against Real Sociedad, securing their spot after extra time. This sets the stage for what could be a potential El Clásico final in Seville, with a trophy on the line. For now, Barcelona must focus on ending Atlético Madrid’s season and booking their place in the final, where they could face their fierce rivals.

    Competition/Round:
    2024-25 Copa del Rey, Semi-Finals, 2nd Leg

    Barcelona Outs & Doubts:
    Marc-André ter Stegen, Marc Casadó, Dani Olmo, Marc Bernal (out), Andreas Christensen (doubt)

    Atlético Outs & Doubts: Koke (doubt)

    Date/Time:
    Wednesday, April 2, 2025
    9.30pm CET (Barcelona)
    8.30pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria)
    3.30pm ET
    12.30pm PT (USA)
    1am IST (India, Thursday)

    Venue: Estadio Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain

    Referee: José Luis Munuera Montero

    VAR: Juan Martínez Munuera

    Read Also: Barcelona  want cut price  for  in-demand Osimhen

    How to watch on TV:
    Premier Sports 1 (UK)
    Startimes World Football (Nigeria)
     TVE La 1, Movistar (Spain)
    Others

    How to watch online:
     ESPN+ (USA)
    FanCode (India)
    Movistar+ (Spain)
    Others

    POSSIBLE LINEUPS

    Barcelona (4-2-3-1)
    Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsí, Iñigo, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski

    Atlético (4-4-2)
     Musso; Azpilicueta, Giménez, Lenglet, Reinildo; Llorente, De Paul, Barrios, Simeone; Griezmann, Álvarez

    Predictions

    Over 1.5goals 

  • Barcelona extend Alba’s contract

    FC Barcelona have agreed to extend left full-back Jordi Alba’s contract until 2024, the La Liga leaders said in a statement on Thursday.

    The club also said they have included an eye-watering buy-out clause of 500 million euros (428 million pounds).

    Spain international Alba has played 282 games for Barca since re-joining from Valencia in 2012 after being released by the club as a teenager.

    He has won 14 trophies, including four La Liga titles, four Copa del Reys and the 2015 UEFA Champions League.

    Read Also: Barcelona fan sheds tears of joy for Messi

    The 29-year-old Alba has been capped 67 times by Spain and was part of the side that won the 2012 European Championship.

    The full-back has grown in importance to the team since Ernesto Valverde took over as coach in 2017 and has a good understanding with Lionel Messi.

    He has provided 20 assists for the Argentine forward.

    NAN

  • Barca handed Copa final rematch with Sevilla, Real Madrid face Girona in quarter-finals

    Copa del Rey holders FC Barcelona were paired with Sevilla in Friday’s quarter-final draw, setting up a re-run of last year’s final match, while Real Madrid will face Girona.

    Barca, who thrashed Sevilla 5-0 in the 2018 final match, escaped a potential expulsion from the competition moments before the draw was made.

    The Spanish football federation (RFEF) announced on Friday it had rejected Levante’s complaint that the 30-times Copa winners fielded an ineligible player in their last 16 first leg game.

    Barcelona break billion dollar revenue barrier

    Barca overcame a 2-1 deficit from the first leg against Levante by winning the second leg 3-0 for a 4-2 aggregate victory.

    Real Madrid, who beat Leganes 3-1 on aggregate, will have to get past Girona.

    Girona knocked out 10-times winners Atletico Madrid on away goals rule following a thrilling 3-3 draw in their last 16 second leg that resulted in a 4-4 aggregate scoreline.

    Getafe will play against Valencia, and Real Betis will face Espanyol in the other ties in the round.

    The first leg games will take place from Jan. 23, with the deciding fixtures being played from Jan. 30.(Reuters/NAN)

  • Copa del Rey: Simon impresses on first start with Levante

    Super Eagles’ winger, Moses Simon started his first game of the season for Levante in their 1-1 draw away to CD Lugo in the Copa Del Rey, AOIFootball.com reports.

    Moses has been used as a substitute mostly in the league but started on the left-hand side of Levante’s attack.

    It was the hosts who however struck first courtesy of a Cristian Herrera strike in the 11th minute.

    Levante did equalize eight minutes into the second half with Borja Mayoral finishing off a Samu Garcia assist; the visitors held on to the advantage going into the second leg in December.

    “Happy to play my first Copa del Rey match,” Simon posted afterward.

    He was on for 84 minutes and had a game rating of 6.7, completed 53% of his passes, won 8 of his 13 duels contested, made an interception and also completed 50% of his tackles during the match.

  • Messi family jets back for pre-season

    Messi family jets back for pre-season

    Lionel Messi has returned home to Barcelona following his Antigua honeymoon with wife Antonella and will now turn his attention to pre-season training.

    The Argentine posted an Instagram snap from his plane journey back from the Caribbean, showing his wife and two young boys Thiago and Mateo.

    Messi married long-term girlfriend Antonella Roccuzzo in their native Rosario in Argentina on June 30 before jetting off to the exclusive Jumby Bay resort in Antigua.

    The resort, owned by the Rosewood Hotels group, boasts that their £5,000-a-night luxury villas ‘provide incredible views of Henzell Point looking across the Caribbean Sea to Antigua.’

    The 4,150 square-foot villa where the Messi family stayed features three bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, indoor/outdoor dining area, beach access, private 50′ by 20′ swimming pool and a jacuzzi. Each one comes with a golf cart for easy access.

    They were joined for the final few days of their holiday by Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez, with the two players practising their skills with a game of head tennis in the pool.

    Both Messi and Suarez are expected back at Barcelona on Friday for pre-season training

    But they’ll soon have to snap out of the holiday mood, with new Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde expecting his squad back for the start of pre-season training on Friday.

    Barcelona are due to fly out to the Unied States for the bulk of their pre-season preparations, where they’ll play Juventus, Manchester United and Real Madrid in the International Champions Cup.

    Before the beginning of the season, they’ll play two more fixtures against their rivals Real in the Spanish Super Cup, played over two legs.

    It was a disappointing season for Messi and Barca – they claimed the Copa del Rey but had to watch as Real sealed the La Liga title and also their third Champions League success in four seasons.

    Barcelona pre-season schedule

    July 22 Juventus (International Champions Cup; MetLife Stadium, New Jersey) 11.05pm UK time

    July 27 Manchester United (International Champions Cup; FedExField, Washington) 12.30am

    July 30 Real Madrid (International Champions Cup; Hard Rock Stadium, Miami) 1.05am

    August 7 Chapecoense (Joan Gamper Trophy; Nou Camp) 7.30pm

    August 12 Real Madrid (Spanish Super Cup, first leg; Nou Camp) TBC

    August 15 Real Madrid (Spanish Super Cup, second leg; Santiago Bernabeu)

  • Messi, Neymar Ensure Enrique Leaves Barca with Copa del Rey

    Messi, Neymar Ensure Enrique Leaves Barca with Copa del Rey

    Barcelona 3 Alaves 1

    Lionel Messi and Neymar showed their class as Barcelona beat a determined Alaves side 3-1 in the the Copa del Rey final in Madrid on Saturday, the Catlan club’s third straight win in the competition as they bid farewell to coach Luis Enrique on a high.

    Messi curled in the opener in the 30th minute from outside the area following clever link up play with Neymar after Alaves, who were playing in their first domestic final, had struck the inside of the post.

    The Basque side drew level three minutes later when Theo Hernandez fizzed a spectacular free kick into the top corner although Neymar restored Barca’s lead a minute before half-time, bundling in Andre Gomes’s pass from close range after starting the move with a dazzling run down the left.

    Paco Alcacer further stretched Barcelona’s lead two minutes later killing off Alaves’ hopes of a first trophy in their 96-year history and delivering Barca’s Copa del Rey, the ninth trophy of Luis Enrique’s three-year tenure.

    Eintracht Frankfurt 1 Borussia Dortmund 2

    Borussia Dortmund ended a run of three successive DFB-Pokal final defeats with a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

    Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who reportedly handed in a transfer request this week, scored his 40th goal of the season from the penalty spot for Dortmund midway through the second half to clinch the club’s fourth German Cup title and first in five years.

    Aubameyang also hit the crossbar late on as Dortmund put the defeats to Bayern Munich (twice) and Wolfsburg behind them in a record fourth-in-a-row final appearance.

    Dortmund took the lead after just eight minutes when Ousmane Dembele picked up where he had left off with his semi-final winner against Bayern.

    The midfielder reached double figures for the season with a left-footed shot from a tight angle.

    However, they could not press home their advantage and on the half-hour Frankfurt, appearing in their first cup final for 11 years, equalised through Ante Rebic.

    Dortmund replaced Marco Reus and Marcel Schmelzer with Gonzalo Castro and Christian Pulisic at half-time and it was the latter who won the penalty after he was fouled by Lukas Hradecky, allowing Aubameyang to his 40th in 46 matches this season.

  • Pique back for Copa del Rey semis

    Pique back for Copa del Rey semis

    Gerard Pique looks good for a place in the semi finals of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday after joining in training Monday. This is considered a major boost for Barcelona ahead of the showdown against Athletico Madrid.

    The centre-back was forced off at half-time of the 3-0 LaLiga win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday after picking up a muscle problem.

    Head coach Luis Enrique said the injury was simply a result of their hectic fixture schedule but there had been concerns that Pique would be unable to face Atleti at Camp Nou.

    However, the Spain international trained in full with team-mates on Monday and it looks likely that he will be available at least for the matchday squad.

    Barca hold a 2-1 lead from the first leg thanks to goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, although Antoine Griezmann’s second-half header gave Atletico a lifeline.

  • Suarez celebrates 30th birthday

    Suarez celebrates 30th birthday

     

     

     

    Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has turned 30 and his wife Sofia has paid tribute to him on Instagram.

    She shared a picture of the former Liverpool forward on her social media account, showing him holding a birthday cake with ’30’ and some candles on top.

    Alongside the snap, she wrote: ‘Only someone so special can do such special things! May life follow you always smiling always and very happy! Happy 30th! We love you with our soul.’

    Suarez has scored 19 goals in 27 appearances for Barcelona so far this season but the La Liga champions have found the going tough so far in 2016-17.

    Luis Enrique’s side are currently third in the table and trail second place Sevilla by one point and leaders Real Madrid by two.

    Barcelona are next in action on Thursday in the Copa del Rey, where they host Real Sociedad. They won the first leg 1-0.

    Following the cup encounter, they take on Real Betis on Saturday, who Suarez scored a hat-trick against earlier this season.

    Suarez joined Barcelona in the summer of 2014 in an £80million deal.

  • Madrid to rest Ronaldo against Sevilla

    Madrid to rest Ronaldo against Sevilla

     

    Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane will not use Cristiano Ronaldo in the second leg against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey on Thursday.
    Zidane will also rest Luka Modric when Madrid try to defend a 3-0 win from the first leg.
    Madrid can advance to the quarter-finals even with a two-goal loss at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.
    Ronaldo also didn’t play against Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. His first match of the year was on Saturday against Granada in the Spanish league, when he scored once in Madrid’s 5-0 win.
    Zidane has also revealed James Rodriguez, who scored twice in the first leg, will not travel because of a calf problem, but defender Sergio Ramos will be back after a long injury layoff.
    Defender Pepe and striker Gareth Bale remain out, but forward Lucas Vazquez and defensive midfielder Mateo Kovacic will make the trip to southern Spain after recovering from injuries, as will Zidane’s son, Enzo.
    Madrid are trying to win the Copa del Rey title for the first time since the 2013-14 season.