Barcelona are clear favourites to reach the Copa del Rey final after defeating Villarreal 3-1 at Camp Nou in the semi-final first leg on Wednesday night. It was the Catalans' tenth win in succession and they would have scored four had Neymar, who chose to take a 70th minute penalty ahead of Lionel Messi, not had his stuttering effort saved by Sergio Asenjo.
Barca’s neighbours Espanyol are slight favourites to be the other finalist after they drew their semi-final against Athletic Bilbao in the Basque Country. The return legs are on March 4th and the final will be at the end of May at a still to be determined venue.
This was the second of three meetings between Luis Enrique’s side and Villarreal in a month. The first, an absorbing 3-2 league encounter, ended Villarreal’s 18 game unbeaten run but it underlined their pedigree as one of Spain’s top teams.
Both clubs fielded their strongest sides last night, but Barca appeared to have learnt the most from the league game and penned the visitors in their own half, enjoying three quarters of the first half possession. Villarreal’s cause wasn’t helped when they lost captain Bruno Soriano to an ankle injury after 33 minutes.
Marcelino’s side defended well but while Barca were ruthless at seizing on mistakes, they couldn’t find a deserved breakthrough until the 41th minute. The opening goal came when Luis Suarez pounced on Musacchio and ruthlessly dispossessed the defender outside his area. Suarez sprinted forward and rolled the ball to Messi who curled it past Asenjo from the edge of the area for his 34th goal of the season.
Messi repaid the compliment of an assist a minute later but while Suarez’s resulting shot went wide, vocal fans in the 57,000 crown sang his name. The Uruguayan is finding his feet at his new club, his partnership with Messi improving.
Barca had won eight of their nine previous games against Villarreal but the visitors almost levelled with their first shot of the game in the 45th minute, Luciano Vietto’s effort being touched around the post by Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Barca’s German goalkeeper.
Villarreal did draw level after 48 minutes when substitute Trigueros shot from 25 metres. Ter Stegen, who plays in cup matches, let the ball pass through his hands.
“I made an error,” the 22-year-old said after the game, “but aside from that I thought I played well.”
Barca hit back immediately, Andres Iniesta winning the ball and combining with Suarez as he ran towards goal before shooting low from inside the box.
Gerard Pique made it 3-1 after 64 minutes after losing his marker Musacchio and heading a corner from inside the box. It wasn’t the best night for Musacchio who received a yellow card for handball inside the area which led to Barca’s penalty.
Messi won the spot kick, Neymar took it.
“The penalty taker is Messi, I assume they spoke, the players can decide on the pitch,” said Enrique of the decision. The Brazilian twice paused in his run up before hitting a low shot which was easily saved by Asenjo.
Rather than put the game beyond Villarreal, Barca almost conceded a second when Villarreal counter attacked and Jeremy Mathieu blocked a Moi Gomez shot with his back. The score would stay at 3-1, though Suarez was again applauded for an audacious effort on goal from near halfway line.
“I saw a very good game, and the result was good,” said Enrique. “It doesn’t define the tie and having missed a penalty gives you the feeling that it could have been better.”
“I see the return leg as a very complicated one,” added his opposite Marcelino. “We’re obliged to win 2-0 and it’s difficult to see that Barcelona won’t trouble the scoreboard. The percentages are weighed rather heavily in Barcelona’s favour now, that’s pretty clear.”
“Our mentality doesn’t change, we’ll attack Villarreal at El Madrigal and try to win the game,” concluded Enrique. “Assumptions kill you and I foresee a very difficult match. The objective is not to score a goal but win the game and avoid any risks. Still, it’ll be very difficult.”
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