Barcelona triumphed in the first battle against rival Real Madrid.
The Catalan club won 1-0 win at the Santiago BernabĂ©u Stadium in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Thursday 바카라 the first of three matches between the Spanish powerhouses in the next few weeks.
Barcelona took the victory with an own-goal by Madrid defender Ăder MilitĂŁo in the first half.
The rivals will also meet in the Spanish league on March 19 in Barcelona and in the return leg of the Copa semifinals on April 5.
It was also the first match between the rivals since it became public Barcelona paid millions of euros over several years to the vice president of the country바카라s refereeing committee. A banner by Madrid fans at the BernabĂ©u said: 바카라Clean and white, never tarnished.바카라
Osasuna defeated Athletic Bilbao 1-0 at home on Wednesday in the first leg of the other semifinal.
It was an even match at the BernabĂ©u, with the teams struggling to create significant scoring opportunities. Madrid controlled possession but couldn바카라t break through the Barcelona defense, ending the match without any shots on target.
The visitors took the lead in the 26th when the ball careened off Militão after a run into the area by Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessié. The goal came after Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga lost possession near midfield. It was initially disallowed for an offside by Kessié but later got confirmed after video review.
바카라I바카라m satisfied with the result but not with how we played,바카라 Barcelona coach Xavi said. 바카라It will be good to play at home in the return leg, with our fans, but I still think that Madrid is the favorite to advance.바카라
Madrid thought it had opened the scoring with Karim Benzema in the 12th but he was offside. KessiĂ© came close to adding to Barcelona바카라s lead in the 74th but his shot from the middle of the area was inadvertently deflected near the goal line by teammate Ansu Fati.
Barcelona got the win despite playing without some of its top scorers because of injuries 바카라 Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane DembĂ©lĂ© and Pedri, a trio that has combined for 40 goals this season, with 25 coming from Lewandowski. Xavi also couldn바카라t count on central defender Andreas Christensen because of an injury. He started with Marcos Alonso in Christensen바카라s place and Ronald AraĂșjo was improvised in the right back position.
Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets played in his 46th 바카라clasico바카라 to surpass former teammate Lionel Messi and Madrid defender Sergio Ramos for most appearances in the game between the clubs.
바카라It바카라s an important result that gives us a small advantage for the return match at home,바카라 Busquets said. 바카라We were coming off two losses and were missing some players, so this strengthens the group.바카라
Barcelona was coming off a 1-0 loss at AlmerĂa in the Spanish league, which marked the first time the Catalan club failed to score since October. Before that, it was eliminated by Manchester United in the Europa League playoffs. It leads Madrid by seven points in the league.
Barcelona defeated Madrid 3-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final in January but had lost by the same score in the first 바카라clasico바카라 of the season in a league match at the BernabĂ©u last year.
Barcelona also got the best of Madrid the last time they met in the Copa, advancing in the 2019 semifinals with a 3-0 win in the second leg at the Bernabéu.
Madrid was without central defender David Alaba and left back Ferland Mendy because of injuries. Rodrygo was back from injury but started on the bench, with VinĂcius Junior and Benzema in the starting lineup but not being able to produce much.
바카라We didn바카라t deserve the loss, we played well,바카라 Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. 바카라It gives us confidence for the return match. If we can do the same in Barcelona, we will have a chance to advance.바카라
A fan was detained by security officials after invading the field at the Bernabéu.
Barcelona is the club with most Copa titles with 31, eight more than Athletic. Madrid is next with 19, but none since 2014.
The final will be played on May 6 in Seville.
