RMA 0-1 FCB, El Clasico highlights: Barcelona leads on aggregate after beating Real Madrid courtesy of a Militao own goal

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MA vs BAR: Real Madrid vs Barcelona (El Clasico) Copa del Rey semi-final first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Real Madrid courtesy of a Militao own goal

Welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of Real Madrid vs Barcelona (El Clasico) Copa del Rey semi-final at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Real Madrid courtesy of a Militao own goal

Real Madrid Full Time

Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 1-0 in the first half of their Copa del Rey semi-final with a 27th minute own goal from Eder Militao. Both teams will play the second leg on March 20.

90 + 5'
Free kicks will benefit Barcelona as Alvaro and Ter Stegen both play the ball. Ter Stegen was pressed and took a while to get up, but it didn't matter.

90 + 4'
Carvajal curled a cross into the box, but there was no one to meet it. Araujo took the ball to safety.

90 + 1'
Booking: Xavi shown a yellow card for dissent on the touchline.

90'
Five minutes were added at the end of the second half.

90'
Rodrigo takes a shot from about 25 yards, which does not worry Ter Stegen, but he worries for the second as he goes through the goal.

88'
Camavinga's cross inside the box cannot be controlled by Benzema and the ball is headed home by Ter Stegen.

85'
Barcelona sub: IN- Roberto OUT- Cassie.

84'
Real Madrid sub: IN- Alvaro OUT- Modric. Could Alvaro have been the late equaliser? He scored in the 85th minute for Real Madrid in their 1-1 draw with Atletico at the weekend.

83'
Barcelona now play completely on the scoreboard as they defend in numbers. Xavi's men defended well and won 1-0 at the Bernabeu.

82'
Modric found Carvajal with a looping cross at the back post. Carvajal tried to cross the ball but saw his effort blocked. The Spaniard performed below par tonight.

78'
There was a shout of handball inside the penalty box as Ferran Torres was seen to have touched the ball with his hand. VAR has a check and gives nothing. The ball hit his shoulder and bounced on the chest of the former Man City player.

74'
Real Madrid sub: IN- Chouameni OUT- Kroos

72'
Booking: Wolverde sees a yellow card for his challenge on Deong.

72'
How did Barca not enter? Ferran Torres finds Cassie with perfect blemishes. Cassie shoots but Fati saves for Real Madrid goal. The ball is headed into the bottom corner and Courtois is out of the equation. Sad to say.

70'
Araujo stands to head the ball when the ball is played into the box from a free kick. However, this test is not intended.

69'
Barcelona sub: IN- Fati OUT- Rafinha.

69'
Kessie frees Raphinha who is measured by the ball. Rafinha crossed the ball but it was too difficult for Ferran Torres to reach the ball.

67'
Real Madrid sub: IN- Rodrygo OUT- Nacho

66'
Booking: Cassie receives a yellow card for bringing down Carvajal. Real Madrid is in good condition.

64'
At the end of Real Madrid's attack, Carvajal's cross was deflected and Ter Stegen collected the ball easily.

63'
Barca had a chance to counter but Raphinha couldn't keep the ball. Meanwhile, Real Madrid prepare their first substitution. Rodrigo.

61'
Kamavinga loses the ball and Raphinha runs towards goal. He tried to pass Kamawinga, who made a good save, but the Frenchman made up for his earlier mistake with a great tackle to chase down the Brazilian.

60'
Modric's shot appeared to touch Alonso's arm, but the referee waved it on. To be fair, it wasn't Modric who was the crowd pleaser.

58'
Vinicius sent a dangerous cross to the back post, but Ter Stegen did well to save it. Benzema had to touch him as he was hiding to get that decisive touch. The ball could have ended up in the net as if it had taken a bad turn.

56'
Modric sent the ball into the Barca box with a cross from the outside of his boot. Benzema tried to win at the end but Alonso did well to clear the ball.

55'
Booking: Nacho is the latest to receive a yellow card for pulling on Rafina.

54'
Balde's back was not doing well and Benzema looked set to touch a loose ball after a few moments. But Marcos Alonso will do well to enter and clear the ball away from France.

52'
Kamavinga's shot from distance was nowhere near the target as the ball went past Stegen's goal.

51'
Order: Xavi finally sees a yellow card. For a long time he walked on the tiger rope and the judge finally gave him the book. To wave to Vinicius before a Madrid corner.

49'
Chance - Valverde squeezes a cross inside the box. The cross was met by Vinicius, who shot first time, but Araujo made a crucial block to send the ball into the corner. Vinci encouraged the crowd to be more vocal.

48'
Kamavinga sends Vinicius, who appears to be already there

There were no halftime changes to report for either side.

SECOND HALF!!
The second round of the Copa del Rey semi-final between Real Madrid and Barcelona begins. Barcelona took a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute with an own goal by Eder Militao.

HALF TIME!!
Eder Militao's own goal gave Barcelona a 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.

45 + 1'
Nacho brings down Rafina and it's a Barca free-kick. A good chance for Barca to see off the precious seconds and go into half-time with the lead.

45'
Two minutes were added at the end of the first half.

45'
Order: Raphinha, Vinicius Jr.

43'
Nacho sent a cross into the box which was punished by Ter Stegen. Not the best and the ball falls to Wolverhampton. Volverde sent another ball into the box, but this time Ter Stegen caught it. It was hard to tell if it was a cross or a shot.

42'
Chance - Beautiful ball played in for Carvajal at the far post. Carvajal, always in possession of space, volleys the first time but failed to get his power on target. The ball went over the bar for Barca's free kick.

41'
Gavi stuck to Militao and it was another challenge from the youngster. However, he ran away from the card again. He was walking on a leash.

40'
Benzema got the ball into the box, but there were too many people before he could take a shot. In the end, Barcelona will play the ball anywhere because it is safe to clear it.

38'
A quick break from Barcelona. De Ongong did well under pressure to spread the ball to a free Haw on the left. Xavi shot a low cross into the Madrid box but failed to find a teammate.

33'
Cassie was in the Barca penalty box, but Madrid did not stop the game because the referee did not blow the whistle. Modric shoots from distance but sees his effort go over the line. Barca players are not keen on Madrid to continue playing despite Cassie's relegation. It all happened below.

29'
It's hot now, just like in El Clasico. Modric received the ball and immediately tried to start an attack for Madrid's response. However, Gavi clings to Kamaving but escapes the yellow card. Real Madrid and the home crowd were not happy with the decision.

27'
GOOOALLLL!! BARCELONA took the lead after MILITAO's goal!! Initially, Kessey appeared to have scored after Courtois was saved, but replays showed Militao was hit by an opponent and the ball rolled into the back of the net. Brazil can't do anything about it.

25'
Booking: Vinicius Jr is shown a yellow card for bringing down De Jong. The Santiago Bernabeu expressed their displeasure with the decision together with the players.

24'
Valverde and Carvajal played well on the right side under pressure. Valverde sent a low cross into the box for Benzema, but the Frenchman couldn't get the ball out.

22'
Alonso delivers a great free kick inside the Madrid box. Araujo took the ball to his head but failed to get a clear message. Madrid's defense finally cleared the ball.

18'
Valverde made a good start to find Benzema with a cheeky pass from the right. Benzema ran but could not get the ball because it was fixed to safety.

16'
Vinicius whipped in a cross from the left under pressure from Araujo, but Ter Stegen did well to collect the ball.

15'
Benzema takes a shot from a distance, but it takes a deflection and goes out for a corner.

Barcelona successfully defend the next corner.

12'
BENZA IS TARGETED!! OUT! - Great move from Real Madrid: Camavinga beat the ball from Cassidy and passed it to Valverde. Valverde found Modrig and Vinicius Jr. Benzema placed the ball well and into the net, but the assistant referee raised the flag for offside.

9'
Real Madrid countered from a Barca corner, but Modric's pass to Vinicius Jr was intercepted and the ball stopped.

7'
Vinicius is free on the left when he takes a diagonal cross field. He got into the box, where Araujo passed, but his efforts were frustrated. The ball enters the Barca goal.

Did You Know?

Veteran Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets is playing his 46th El Clasico, which is the most for any player.

It has been all Madrid in the opening minutes of the first-half. Barcelona cannot escape from its own-half.

3’
Real Madrid players are pressing early in the first-half, which is not allowing Barcelona to keep the ball for too long.

1’
A mix up at the back for Barcelona and Luka Modric is played a good pass. He makes a run at goal and hits the side-netting with his shot. Kounde did well to recover and put pressure on the veteran midfielder.

KICK-OFF!!
The Copa del Rey semifinal first-leg between Real Madrid and Barcelona has kicked-off at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

1:25 AM- The ‘Hala Madrid’ anthem reverberating across the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. It is an atmosphere worthy of an El Clasico. Kick-off is just five minutes. Stay tuned for live updates.

Match facts

The last time Real Madrid won the Copa Del Rey was in 2014. They beat Barcelona 2-1 to win the trophy for the 19th time in their history.
Barcelona have won just two of their last five games. Their last two matches were 2-1 defeats to Manchester United at Old Trafford in the UEFA Europa League.
Barcelona's one goal against Almeria is the fewest in La Liga since May 15, 2022 with Getafe (0-0).

Head-to-head record

Matches: 251

Real Madrid: 101

Draws: 52

FC Barcelona: 98

Confirmed starting lineups!

Real Madrid: Courtois(GK), Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Kroos, Benzema(c), Modric, Camavinga, Valverde, Vini Jr, Rudiger.

Barcelona: Ter Stegen(GK), Araujo, Sergio, Gavi, Ferran, Alonso, Kessie, De Jong, Raphinha, Kounde, Balde.

PREVIEW

A wounded Barcelona faces Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semifinal first leg on Thursday, hunting for a Clasico win to make coach Xavi Hernandez’s gamble at a critical moment of the season pay off.

Despite missing injured duo Pedri and Ousmane Dembele, Xavi rested other important players in the 1-0 defeat by Almeria on Sunday, prioritising the Clasico cup clash and spurning the chance to stretch its league lead to 10 points on Madrid.

Adding to Barca’s unease ahead of the Clasico, top scorer Robert Lewandowski has suffered a hamstring strain and is set to miss out, although Ansu Fati is poised to return.

Delivering what Xavi described as the “worst performance of the season” at Almeria, Barcelona suffered its second consecutive defeat after it was knocked out of the Europa League by Manchester United at Old Trafford.

A third defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu could send the team into a spiral, with their seven-point La Liga lead strong but not unassailable.

The Catalans visit the Santiago Bernabeu a day after Osasuna welcome Athletic Bilbao to El Sadar in the other Copa del Rey semi-final first leg.

“We have to change our mindset if we want to win the league and the cup,” warned Xavi after El Bilal Toure’s goal inflicted only their second Liga defeat of the season.

“We have no excuse, we didn’t show the desire to play, intensity, that is what worries me the most.

“You can slip up, but you have to show passion and desire and in the first half we lacked that.”

Anything other than a good result in the capital will raise further questions about the coach’s decision to rest Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Alejandro Balde against Almeria.

Instant results

Xavi has said if his team win La Liga but not the Copa del Rey, it would still count as a good season, with the Spanish Super Cup already in the bag.

However, losing this double-header against their arch-rival would allow further doubts about the project to creep in, fuelling Xavi’s detractors after spending big last summer.

Barcelona brought in several players, including striker Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, as well as Kounde and Raphinha, and the outlay they made and the financial manoeuvring they did to get the transfers through demands instant results.

Real Madrid vs Barcelona Predicted XI

Real Madrid: Courtois(GK); Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Nacho; Modric, Kroos, Valverde; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius Jr

Barcelona: Ter Stegen(GK); S. Roberto, Araujo, Christensen, Alba; Kessie, Busquets, Frenkie De Jong; Gavi, F. Torres, Raphinha

Real Madrid were held to a draw by Atletico Madrid on Saturday and saw Barcelona stumble to a better result.

Carlo Ancelotti's side, who beat Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield in the Champions League quarter-finals, can focus on revenge after their Spanish Super Cup exit.

Barcelona won their first trophy of the Xavi era with a 3-1 win in Saudi Arabia in January.

Despite the Catalans' desire to end their silverware drought, they looked more determined to fight than Madrid on that day. However, as many know, the Copa del Rey is a different story.

The last time Madrid lifted the trophy was in 2014 when Gareth Bale scored a stunning solo goal in a 3-1 win over Barcelona in the final at the Mestalla.

Los Blancos are without their front three of David Alaba, Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy.

Carlo Ancelotti said after the Madrid derby: "The cup is the most important thing because it's the next game and it's very close to one."

"270 minutes away from winning the title."

AFP

TV and live streaming information

When and where does the Copa del Rey semi-final Real Madrid vs Barcelona (El Casico) start?
The Real Madrid vs Barcelona Copa del Rey semi-final kicks off on Friday, March 3 at 1:30 IST at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Where to watch Real Madrid vs Barcelona Copa del Rey Semi Final in India?
Fancode app and website will stream Real Madrid vs Barcelona Copa del Rey semifinal live in India.
Unfortunately, there is no live streaming of the game in India.
Where can you watch the Real Madrid vs Barcelona Copa del Rey semi-final in the US and UK?
USA - Viaplay (Sky channel 412, Virgin Media channel 553).
England - ESPN+

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