Karim Benzema proved to be Real Madrid’s standout player on the night, grabbing his second hat trick in a row following Los Blancos’ 6-0 victory over Valladolid on the weekend.

Vinicius Junior handed Madrid the lead in first-half stoppage time, while Benzema doubled their lead just five minutes after the break. Benzema grabbed his second goal from the penalty spot in the 58th minute, completing his hat trick in the 80th minute.

“The work [Benzema] did during the international break helped a lot,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti stated during the post-match interview. “He’s found his optimal condition again, and with the quality he has, the physical condition that supports that quality makes the difference.”

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“We don’t have Madrid’s measure at all,” Xavi said during a press conference on Tuesday. “They can easily come here and win. They can beat any team — how long is it since they lost a two-legged tie?”

Xavi added that Real Madrid has more experience when it comes to games of this stature. He added that they are capable of making big comebacks, as they proved during their Champions League triumph last season.

While Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 3-1 in La Liga back in October, Barcelona has won all three of the clashes between the two Spanish giants in 2023. The Catalonians won the Spanish Super Cup final 3-1, 2-1 in the second La Liga fixture between the two sides, and 1-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal.

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In what proved to be a hard-fought clash between the El Clasico rivals, an own goal by Eder Militao in the first half during the first half of play was the only thing to separate the two sides on the night. After Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved a shot from Franck Kessie, the ball rebounded off Militao and into the net.

Courtois was quick to express his disappointment in Real Madrid’s narrow home loss, claiming that his team “dominated” their rivals and were unlucky to come away with the win.

“We dominated the game today,” Courtois told TVE after the game.”

[Barcelona] were quite defensive. We were really unlucky to concede the goal. They won the ball, I saved [the shot] and it rebounded off Militao and went in. They were leading when they didn’t deserve to. It was hard for us to create chances. It’s difficult, we played a good game, we were in control, but we didn’t get the chances. They defended well.”

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Atletico, current leaders of Spanish La Liga, decided to sit several of their first-team players for the matchup but were still considered an overwhelming favorite to get a big win. However, it looks like their opponent didn’t get that memo.

Cornella were the better team early on and managed to get the lead in the seventh minute. Agus Medina delivered a cross from a free-kick to the penalty box, and Adrian Jimenez was the fastest to meet the ball, delivering a well-placed volley to give his team the lead.

Atletico spent the rest of the game trying to find a way back into the game, but their attacks fell short. This caused frustration among players, resulting in Ricard Sanchez’s red card in the second half.

Cornella, on the other hand, defended well and even had several chances to increase their lead. They ended up having the same number of shots (15) as their opponents but placed six on target compared to zero by Atletico.

This is the second consecutive time that Atletico Madrid got eliminated from the Copa del Rey by a third division squad. In 2019-20, they were sent home by Cultural Leonesa after a 2-1 away loss.

“We always want to win, but today our opponents deserved to go through, just like last year,” said Atletico head coach Diego Simeone. “They competed well, they played the game they wanted to, they won the second balls, they kept up their intensity, and we have to congratulate them as they overpowered us.”

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Valencia shocked Barcelona by a 2-1 final to claim the Copa del Rey, the club’s first major title in 11 years.

The Chés jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and held on to take home the victory in the cup final despite a second-half Leo Messi goal.

Valencia, which finished 4th in La Liga this season, got on the board first with a stunning Kevin Gameiro strike in the 21st minute that Barça keeper Jasper Cillessen couldn’t get to.

They took a 2-0 advantage when Rodrigo Moreno headed in a cross from Carlos Soler only 12 minutes later.

Barça tried desperately to generate chances in the second half of the game, but Valencia’s back line held solid. The only goal that Barcelona managed to score was after a bar bounced off of the post and to Leo Messi after a corner.

Valencia’s win ends Barcelona’s four-year reign as the champions of Spain’s domestic tournament. It’s their first Copa del Rey trophy since the 2009 edition.

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The script didn’t go as planned, however, as Real Madrid was soundly defeated at their home stadium by Barcelona, 0-3.

Real Madrid controlled the game throughout the first half. Brazilian wunderkind Vinicius Junior was Los Blancos’ best player on the night. He created countless chances within the box for Real Madrid and came close to scoring on a few occasions.

In fact, were it not for Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s excellent saves, the story of the game could have been very different.

However, in the second half, Barcelona took control. Luis Suarez scored a goal after a brilliant Ousmane Demebele run and cross to give Barcelona a 0-1 lead in the 50th minute. Things went even more downhill for Real Madrid after this.

After another cross into the box aimed for Suarez, Real Madrid center-back Raphael Varane kicked the ball into his own goal in the 69th minute. Bad went to worse after Luis Suarez was fouled in the penalty area, and then stepped into the box and converted a cheeky Paneka kick to put Barcelona up 0-3, the final result.

The Blaugrana will play the winner of Valencia and Real Betis’ draw in the final.

The post Barcelona Cruises Past Real Madrid to Advance to Copa del Rey Final appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Karim Benzema proved to be Real Madrid’s standout player on the night, grabbing his second hat trick in a row following Los Blancos’ 6-0 victory over Valladolid on the weekend.

Vinicius Junior handed Madrid the lead in first-half stoppage time, while Benzema doubled their lead just five minutes after the break. Benzema grabbed his second goal from the penalty spot in the 58th minute, completing his hat trick in the 80th minute.

“The work [Benzema] did during the international break helped a lot,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti stated during the post-match interview. “He’s found his optimal condition again, and with the quality he has, the physical condition that supports that quality makes the difference.”

The post Barcelona Crashes Out of Cope Del Rey Courtesy of Benzema Hat Trick appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

“We don’t have Madrid’s measure at all,” Xavi said during a press conference on Tuesday. “They can easily come here and win. They can beat any team — how long is it since they lost a two-legged tie?”

Xavi added that Real Madrid has more experience when it comes to games of this stature. He added that they are capable of making big comebacks, as they proved during their Champions League triumph last season.

While Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 3-1 in La Liga back in October, Barcelona has won all three of the clashes between the two Spanish giants in 2023. The Catalonians won the Spanish Super Cup final 3-1, 2-1 in the second La Liga fixture between the two sides, and 1-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal.

The post Xavi Ignores Previous El Clasico Success Heading Into Copa Del Rey appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

In what proved to be a hard-fought clash between the El Clasico rivals, an own goal by Eder Militao in the first half during the first half of play was the only thing to separate the two sides on the night. After Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved a shot from Franck Kessie, the ball rebounded off Militao and into the net.

Courtois was quick to express his disappointment in Real Madrid’s narrow home loss, claiming that his team “dominated” their rivals and were unlucky to come away with the win.

“We dominated the game today,” Courtois told TVE after the game.”

[Barcelona] were quite defensive. We were really unlucky to concede the goal. They won the ball, I saved [the shot] and it rebounded off Militao and went in. They were leading when they didn’t deserve to. It was hard for us to create chances. It’s difficult, we played a good game, we were in control, but we didn’t get the chances. They defended well.”

The post Barcelona Shocks Real Madrid With El Clasico Win appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Atletico, current leaders of Spanish La Liga, decided to sit several of their first-team players for the matchup but were still considered an overwhelming favorite to get a big win. However, it looks like their opponent didn’t get that memo.

Cornella were the better team early on and managed to get the lead in the seventh minute. Agus Medina delivered a cross from a free-kick to the penalty box, and Adrian Jimenez was the fastest to meet the ball, delivering a well-placed volley to give his team the lead.

Atletico spent the rest of the game trying to find a way back into the game, but their attacks fell short. This caused frustration among players, resulting in Ricard Sanchez’s red card in the second half.

Cornella, on the other hand, defended well and even had several chances to increase their lead. They ended up having the same number of shots (15) as their opponents but placed six on target compared to zero by Atletico.

This is the second consecutive time that Atletico Madrid got eliminated from the Copa del Rey by a third division squad. In 2019-20, they were sent home by Cultural Leonesa after a 2-1 away loss.

“We always want to win, but today our opponents deserved to go through, just like last year,” said Atletico head coach Diego Simeone. “They competed well, they played the game they wanted to, they won the second balls, they kept up their intensity, and we have to congratulate them as they overpowered us.”

The post Atletico Madrid Shockingly Eliminated From Copa del Rey by Third Division Team appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Valencia shocked Barcelona by a 2-1 final to claim the Copa del Rey, the club’s first major title in 11 years.

The Chés jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and held on to take home the victory in the cup final despite a second-half Leo Messi goal.

Valencia, which finished 4th in La Liga this season, got on the board first with a stunning Kevin Gameiro strike in the 21st minute that Barça keeper Jasper Cillessen couldn’t get to.

They took a 2-0 advantage when Rodrigo Moreno headed in a cross from Carlos Soler only 12 minutes later.

Barça tried desperately to generate chances in the second half of the game, but Valencia’s back line held solid. The only goal that Barcelona managed to score was after a bar bounced off of the post and to Leo Messi after a corner.

Valencia’s win ends Barcelona’s four-year reign as the champions of Spain’s domestic tournament. It’s their first Copa del Rey trophy since the 2009 edition.

The post Valencia Shocks Barcelona 2-1 to Win Copa del Rey appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

The script didn’t go as planned, however, as Real Madrid was soundly defeated at their home stadium by Barcelona, 0-3.

Real Madrid controlled the game throughout the first half. Brazilian wunderkind Vinicius Junior was Los Blancos’ best player on the night. He created countless chances within the box for Real Madrid and came close to scoring on a few occasions.

In fact, were it not for Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s excellent saves, the story of the game could have been very different.

However, in the second half, Barcelona took control. Luis Suarez scored a goal after a brilliant Ousmane Demebele run and cross to give Barcelona a 0-1 lead in the 50th minute. Things went even more downhill for Real Madrid after this.

After another cross into the box aimed for Suarez, Real Madrid center-back Raphael Varane kicked the ball into his own goal in the 69th minute. Bad went to worse after Luis Suarez was fouled in the penalty area, and then stepped into the box and converted a cheeky Paneka kick to put Barcelona up 0-3, the final result.

The Blaugrana will play the winner of Valencia and Real Betis’ draw in the final.

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