Real Madrid beat Barcelona 4-0 at the Spotify Camp Nou with a hat-trick by Karim Benzema and a goal by Vinícius, thus securing their ticket to the Copa del Rey final.
The whites took the lead in the 45+1 minute with a shot by Vincius that Jules Koundé failed to clear, and in the second half, the Frenchman scored three more goals. In the 50th minute, he neatly placed a shot from outside the box into the corner of the net, in the 58th minute, he converted a penalty committed by Franck Kessie on Vinicius, and in the 80th minute, he chipped it over Ter Stegen.
Barcelona's best goal-scoring opportunity in the second half was a powerful shot by Alejandro Balde in the 52nd minute that was saved by Thibaut Courtois.
EFE.
WHAT CHANNEL SHOWS BARCELONA VS REAL MADRID
The second leg match of the Copa del Rey semifinals between Barcelona and Real Madrid will be broadcasted by RTVE, La 1, Movistar LaLiga, and GOL Play in Spain, while ESPN+ will show it in the United States and Sky Sports in Mexico. Outside of these countries, the international broadcast will be handled by DirecTV Sports.
- Link to watch Barcelona vs. Real Madrid via RTVE
- Link to watch Barcelona vs. Real Madrid via Movistar
- Link to watch Barcelona vs. Real Madrid via GOL Play
- Link to watch Barcelona vs. Real Madrid via DIRECTV Sports
With the same need for goals that they will have in the return leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals, Ancelotti made no tactical changes and opted for what was expected, a 4-3-3 formation that adds a fourth midfielder with the presence of Uruguayan Fede Valverde in the defensive phase.
Even so, they came closest to victory. In the moment when they switched to plan B with the introductions of Rodrygo, Dani Ceballos, and Marco Asensio, who scored the goal that briefly brought them back to life in LaLiga before it was disallowed by VAR due to an offside by millimeters. Kessié's final goal ended the fight for the title and, at the same time, increased Barcelona's recent dominance in the Clásicos. Four victories in the last five encounters.
What time does Barcelona vs. Real Madrid start in the Copa del Rey?
The ball will start rolling at 2:00 PM in Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. These are the international times.
- If you're in Mexico - 1:00 PM
- If you're in Bolivia - 3:00 PM
- If you're in Venezuela - 3:00 PM
- If you're in the United States - 3:00 PM
- If you're in Argentina - 4:00 PM
- If you're in Uruguay - 4:00 PM
- If you're in Brazil - 4:00 PM
- If you're in Chile - 4:00 PM
- If you're in Paraguay - 4:00 PM
- If you're in Spain - 9:00 PM
Polish Robert Lewandowski and French Karim Benzema put an end to their respective goal droughts with a brace and a hat-trick, respectively, which places the Barcelona forward at the top of the scorers' list with 17 goals, three more than the Real Madrid striker.
At the doorstep of the Copa del Rey classic at Camp Nou, Lewandowski found the net again after five matches - three in the league - with two goals against Elche at the Martínez Valero on Saturday, and on Sunday, Benzema responded with a hat-trick against Valladolid, which allows him to move into second place alone after reconciling with scoring, as he hadn't scored in the competition since February.
The Frenchman completed his hat-trick in just seven minutes, between the 29th and 36th minute. The last Real Madrid player to score three goals in the first half was Cristiano Ronaldo in September 2015 against Espanyol. The Portuguese forward ended up scoring five goals at the Power8 Stadium with two more goals after halftime.