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In the second season's battle of the Spanish giants, "Barcelona" was once again stronger - in the first leg of the King's Cup quarterfinals, the Catalans defeated Madrid's "Real" 2-1 away.
The match at Madrid's "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium started better for the hosts - Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal between goalkeeper Jose Pinto's legs with a shot from the left flank after just 11 minutes.
Shortly after, Alexis Sanchez had a chance to equalize, but his shot hit the crossbar.
The Catalans gradually found their game in the first half, but only managed to score after halftime: in the 49th minute, Pepe failed to catch Carles Puyol's corner kick, who fell and scored with a header, giving no chance to Iker Casillas.
Later, Andres Iniesta hit the crossbar, while Karim Benzema shook the post.
However, luck smiled on "Barcelona" once again in the 77th minute: after an impressive pass from Lionel Messi, one-on-one against Casillas, Eric Abidal confidently beat the goalkeeper.
In the remaining time, the hosts failed to save the game, but hope is postponed to the next Wednesday, January 25, when the second leg will take place at Barcelona's "Camp Nou" stadium.
In other matches, Bilbao "Athletic" team took a significant step towards the semifinals by defeating "Mallorca" 2-0.
Results:
Bilbao "Athletic" 2 - 0 "Mallorca"
35' [1 - 0] F.Llorente
59' [2 - 0] I.Munian
Madrid "Real" 1 - 2 "Barcelona"
11' [1 - 0] C.Ronaldo
49' [1 - 1] C.Puyol
77' [1 - 2] E.Abidal
Key moments:
Detailed analysis:
