The Metropolitano pitch has become a major talking point ahead of Atletico Madrid's Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Barcelona. "Honestly, it's not in good condition," Koke admitted after Sunday's home defeat to Real Betis. "We slip, the turf comes up. Clearly, we have to play better, so it's not an excuse, but we're expected to perform at a high level and we need a pitch of that same quality to be able to do so."
Diego Simeone has hailed the "different" qualities of Ademola Lookman after the Nigerian international marked his Atletico Madrid debut with a stunning strike. The former Atalanta star joined the Spanish giants in the final days of the January window and wasted no time making an impact during a 5-0 rout of Real Betis. Simeone believes the attacker offers a unique threat to his squad.
Barcelona secured safe passage through to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey with a 2-1 win over Segunda Division outfit Albacete on Tuesday. The Catalan giants were made to wait until the 39th minute before Lamine Yamal opened the scoring, and Ronald Araujo later netted the second of the night, though Javi Moreno's strike set up a nervy ending to the encounter.
Barcelona stars were queuing up to praise goalkeeper Joan Garcia after his stoppage-time heroics saved the Catalan giants from a potential Copa del Rey disaster against Racing Santander. The Spanish champions scraped through to the quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory, but the scoreline masked a nervy evening where only the brilliance of their shot-stopper prevented them from suffering the same humiliating fate as arch-rivals Real Madrid.
Second-division side Albacete have issued an apology to Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior after their historic Copa del Rey victory was overshadowed by vile racist abuse. The club expressed their deep "shame" after a banana was thrown at the Brazilian star during the 3-2 shock, while "disgusting xenophobic chants" were also reported outside the Carlos Belmonte stadium.
Barcelona avoided a Copa del Rey upset thanks to second-half goals from Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal in a 2-0 win. A day after bitter rivals Real Madrid were dumped out of the competition by second division side Albacete, Hansi Flick's men overcame a stern examination against similar opposition on Thursday. The cup holders were indebted to substitute Fermin Lopez as they reached the quarter-finals in battling fashion.
Real Madrid were woeful defensively, and despite goals from Franco Mastantuono and Gonzalo Garcia, succumbed to second division Albacete in the Copa Del Rey, losing 3-2 on Wednesday to get Alvaro Arbeloa's reign off to a forgettable start. Los Blancos had most of the ball throughout, but created few clear cut chances. The home side, meanwhile, were clinical - and good value for the win.
Kylian Mbappe played no part in Real Madrid’s first training session since taking the decision to part with head coach Xabi Alonso. He was relieved of his duties in the wake of a Spanish Super Cup final defeat to Barcelona, with the axe falling within 24 hours of that setback in Saudi Arabia being suffered. Reins have been passed to Alvaro Arbeloa on an interim basis, but he is not yet working with French superstar Mbappe.
Kylian Mbappe scored two and set up another as Real Madrid unconvincingly saw off Spanish third-tier side Talavera 3-2 to reach the last-16 of the Copa del Rey. The 26-year-old converted a penalty, forced the hosts into an own-goal, and scored a fortuitous long-range strike, but that nearly wasn't enough as the underdogs made it a tense finish with two late goals on Wednesday.
Hansi Flick has explained his shock decision to hand Marc-Andre ter Stegen a first start in months, insisting the veteran goalkeeper deserved the "opportunity" to step back between the sticks. The Barcelona boss hailed the German’s attitude after a morale-boosting victory, though he was quick to clarify the keeper’s immediate status in the pecking order.
Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford were on target for Barcelona in the second half as the La Liga champions secured a hard-fought 2-0 win over third-tier Spanish side CD Guadalajara in a Copa del Rey round of 32 clash on Tuesday. The minnows fought tooth and nail throughout the match and had successfully kept a clean sheet until the 76th minute but Hansi Flick's side eventually prevailed.
Hansi Flick has confirmed that the decision regarding Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s future lies solely with the goalkeeper himself, insisting the club is happy to keep him despite his reduced role. The Barcelona boss addressed the situation ahead of the Copa del Rey fixture against Guadalajara, where he revealed that current number one Joan Garcia will be dropped to the bench to rest.
If the voting process for the Ballon d'Or were truly fair, Lionel Messi would have 14 Golden Balls to his name instead of eight. The Barcelona legend was by far the best footballer in the world between 2008 and 2021, but had to concede defeat to Cristiano Ronaldo five times, and Luka Modric once, as the Real Madrid duo were rewarded for spearheading their team's unprecedented success in the Champions League.
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