Copa del Rey (Semi-Final, Leg 2, 2-1 Agg.)

FC Barcelona vs Club Atletico de Madrid
Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
February 7th, 2016 3:00PM EST BEIN Sports

Welcome back to another glorious edition of the Lewnau Sports Bureau!  Last week’s featured article, “February Footballing Shorts”, provided high quality entertainment from midweek through weekend, starting with Liverpool vs Chelsea on Tuesday, and ending with the Derby d’Italia on Sunday.  Perhaps the most exciting and important match of last week however was Wednesday’s La Copa clash between Atletico and Barcelona.  It surely lived up to the billing and set the stage for what should be an excellent second leg this week at the Camp Nou and isour Match of the Week!  I’ll provide a summary of February 1st’s match, reveal keys to the second leg, and predict who’ll win the game and punch their ticket to the Copa del Rey Final!

Copa del Rey Semi-Final, Leg 1 Synopsis

The first leg was played last Wednesday at the famed Vicente Calderon in Madrid.  It was the final La Copa match to be held at this venue, as Atleti will be moving to a new stadium beginning next season.  Thus, the match had all the makings of what should have been an electric atmosphere, but that didn’t come to be until the second half.  This was due to Barca’s dominant first half performance, in particular the world class efforts from Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.  First it was Suarez who managed to evade three Rojiblancos on way to goal.  He had a man trailing and split the two defenders in front of him with a dynamite through ball, to himself essentially, and then toe poked the ball across goal and past the ‘keeper for the match’s opening score.  It was sheer brilliance and quickly silenced the Colchoneros crowd.  Then, shortly after, Messi unleashed a wonder-strike with his golden left foot from just outside the penalty box to put the visitors up 2-0. La Blaugrana were flying high and Los Rojibloncos were stunned until the halftime whistle.

Once the second half got underway, however, you could see a renewed energy and never say die attitude from Diego Simeone’s men.  They attacked time and again, with Antoine Griezmann heading one back, to pull the match to within one.  We then saw Simeone roaring on the sidelines, throwing his arms up, and gazing at the crowd in an attempt to get the Calderon rocking one more time, and it did.  The place was electric and Barca all of a sudden was simply fending for a 2-1 victory, rather than trying to extend the lead.  Atletico had chance after chance, including some terrific opportunities from Fernando Torres and Kevin Gamiero, but ultimately the match ended 2-1 in favor of Barca. Still, Atletico showed its grit and kept the tie within a sliver of striking distance as it headed to the Camp Nou for the second leg!

Keys to the Match

Club Atletico de Madrid

Los Rojiblancos still have a chance of reaching the Copa del Rey Final, but to do so, will need to overcome a 2-1 first leg defeat. This means a 2-0 win or better, at the world renowned Camp Nou, is what’s required to win the game and the tie outright. What does this mean for Diego Simeone and his feisty squad?  Attack! Attack! Attack!  Atletico will have to put out an attacking-minded starting 11, and press Barca as they did in the second half of the first leg.  Players like Fernando Torres, Nicolas Giatan, Yannick Carrasco, and of course Antoine Griezmenn must create offensively, and convert their chances when they come. In contrast to watching them go begging, as a few opportunities did in the waining moments of leg one.  Also, because Los Colchoneros must push forward in numbers, keep an eye on the very talented, but very vulnerable back line for Atletico.  If Barcelona is able to counter and grab a goal or two, then this match will be out of reach for Atleti. 

FC Barcelona  

As for La Azulgrana, Barca is in a terrific position.  Would they have preferred to have gotten a third goal and have buried the tie, when Messi’s sublime free kick was sensationally saved by Moya in the first half of leg one?  Absolutely.Nevertheless, they still produced two crucial away goals, as aforementioned, leaving Atletico needing at minimum a 2-0 decision to win outright.  Thus, Barcelona can simply relax and play its free flowing football in front of its home crowd.  With that said, La Blaugrana must be sharp whilst playing from out of the back.  It’s been a house of horrors at times this season, but with Iniesta and Busquets likely back in the starting 11 for this fixture, Barcelona should be much more efficient and accurate with moving the ball up the pitch from the back four to the midfield and ultimately up to the MSN, so they can produce some magic offensively.  

LSB Prediction:

This match will be uber exciting for sure.  Between the match featuring two of Spain’s top clubs, a Copa del Rey Final birth on the line, the MSN in action, and the match taking place at the most heralded stadium in the world, this game is a must see.  As for what I foresee, Atletico will play fast and physical from the opening whistle.  Pressuring Barca as they play out from the back.  But La Azulgrana will be on its “A” game this evening. Cool and calmly, they will move the ball up the pitch time and again. All until, one lone time Jasper Cillissen produces an errant pass with Torres pouncing and they put one away.  This will then force the MSN to become more aggressive offensively, ultimately resulting in a couple of goals with a late third on a counter attack as icing on the cake.  3-1 FC Barcelona (5-2 Aggregate)