FC Barcelona find themselves coming up against eternal rivals Real Madrid in the first leg of their Copa Del Rey semi-final encounter. Taking place at the ever-so-storied Santiago Bernabeu, this El Clasico potentially holds importance even beyond simply the result it dictates at the end of the allocated 90 minutes.
Match Details:
Date: Thursday, 2nd March 2023
Time: 09:00 pm Central European Time
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu
Competition: Copa Del Rey
Round: Semi-Final First leg
Referee: Jose Luis Munuera Montero
Match Overview:
At what is a crucial latter stage of the 2022/2023 footballing season for La Blaugrana, the Catalans find themselves pitted against their Spanish arch-rivals in Real Madrid. Both teams will be coming into this match expected to put up a showing of both hunger and quality, as the Copa Del Rey title is arguably the most achievable title for both teams should they manage to overcome their respective El Clasico opponent in the semi-finals.
Historically, the two teams have faced off against one another in the kings cup a total of 35 times. Out of these 35 encounters, FC Barcelona hold a slight advantage in terms of victories, having won 15 compared to Real Madrid’s win tally of 12. The two teams have held each other to a draw another 8 times.
Moreover, in terms of the total number of Copa Del Rey titles won, the Catalans again hold an advantage, albeit a rather substantial one in this regard. The Blaugranes have won the King’s Cup a record 31 times, more than any other club in Spain. In comparison, Real Madrid have won the title an impressive 19 times themselves.
In terms of this upcoming game and both teams’ forms in recent weeks, FC Barcelona have hit a bit of a slump in form, having just lost their most recent La Liga Santander game to Almeria with a 1-0 defeat at the Power Horse Stadium. Additionally, their previous game right before their league clash against Almeria also resulted in a loss, this time a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League.
On the contrary, Real Madrid have begun to hit their typical late-season resurgence in form as they usually tend to do. Winning by an impressive 5-2 score against Liverpool at the latter’s home of Anfield, as well as managing a late equalizer against Atletico Madrid in a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga.
With an unwanted exit from the UEFA Europa League, FC Barcelona now find themselves fighting for two major titles: La Liga Santander and the Copa Del Rey. Losing out on any of the two at this point would be a massive blow to the Catalans, thus they will consequently put in as much of a fight as possible against their Clasico rivals come Thursday.