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Played
November 9, 2011 4:00 PM EST
Estadio Municipal Feixa Llarga — L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande
Attendance: 2500
November 9, 2011 4:00 PM EST
Estadio Municipal Feixa Llarga — L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande
Attendance: 2500
Hospitalet 0-1 Barcelona: Iniesta strike clinches first leg of all-Catalan clash in Copa del Rey
Pep Guardiola's side secured a narrow victory in this rescheduled match just outside town, and take a slender advantage into the return leg at Camp Nou before Christmas
By Ben Hayward
Getty Images
Andres Iniesta struck just before half-time to give Barcelona a 1-0 victory over local rivals Hospitalet in the teams' Copa del Rey clash on Wednesday night.
Barca made the short trip to Hospitalet, just outside the Catalan capital, in a game rescheduled due to the European champions' participation in the Club World Cup in December.
With a return at Camp Nou coming just three days after the final in Japan, coach Pep Guardiola stressed the importance of taking an advantage into that match against the Segunda Division B side.
His cause was not helped by the loss of several of his stars due to this week's international matches, with Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez, Dani Alves and Adriano all away with their South American national sides.
However, Barca's Spain's stars were given special dispensation to start in this match ahead of the friendly against England at Wembley on Saturday.
Carles Puyol, Xavi, Cesc Fabregas, David Villa and Iniesta all started, and it was the latter who gave Barca the breakthrough as he blasted home a lovely effort from outside the box two minutes before the halftime interval.
Before that, Villa - who has hardly featured for the Catalans of late - had a decent effort on target early on and Seydou Keita twice threatened for the visitors.
The Spain midfielder was replaced by Sergio Busquets after 62 minutes and moments later, another international teammate, Cesc Fabregas, failed to convert after he was set up beautifully by Keita.
Barca was still dominating and Villa forced Hospitalet goalkeeper Jose Sanchez Moragon into a fine save from a free-kick after 76 minutes, moments after young Rafinha had come on to make his debut in place of Fabregas.
The visitors finished on top as Barcelona secured a narrow victory ahead of the return leg, which will be played four days before Christmas.
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Barca made the short trip to Hospitalet, just outside the Catalan capital, in a game rescheduled due to the European champions' participation in the Club World Cup in December.
With a return at Camp Nou coming just three days after the final in Japan, coach Pep Guardiola stressed the importance of taking an advantage into that match against the Segunda Division B side.
His cause was not helped by the loss of several of his stars due to this week's international matches, with Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez, Dani Alves and Adriano all away with their South American national sides.
However, Barca's Spain's stars were given special dispensation to start in this match ahead of the friendly against England at Wembley on Saturday.
Carles Puyol, Xavi, Cesc Fabregas, David Villa and Iniesta all started, and it was the latter who gave Barca the breakthrough as he blasted home a lovely effort from outside the box two minutes before the halftime interval.
Before that, Villa - who has hardly featured for the Catalans of late - had a decent effort on target early on and Seydou Keita twice threatened for the visitors.
The Spain midfielder was replaced by Sergio Busquets after 62 minutes and moments later, another international teammate, Cesc Fabregas, failed to convert after he was set up beautifully by Keita.
Barca was still dominating and Villa forced Hospitalet goalkeeper Jose Sanchez Moragon into a fine save from a free-kick after 76 minutes, moments after young Rafinha had come on to make his debut in place of Fabregas.
The visitors finished on top as Barcelona secured a narrow victory ahead of the return leg, which will be played four days before Christmas.
Follow Goal.com on
to get the latest soccer news directly. Check out Goal.com's page; be part of the best soccer fan community in the world!
Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
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Results
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pablo Infante
Striker Mirandés |
6 | 1 |
|
Fernando Llorente Torres
Striker Bilbao |
5 | 0 |
|
Álvaro
Striker Espanyol |
5 | 0 |
|
Stuani
Striker Racing Santander |
4 | 1 |
|
Pedro
Striker Barcelona |
4 | 1 |