Relief for Barca after surviving Real fightback

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and his players breathed a collective sigh of relief on Wednesday after they were given a mighty King's Cup scare by holders Real Madrid before holding on to eliminate their arch rivals 4-3 on aggregate.

Barca, who lost to Real in last year's final, were 2-0 ahead by halftime in a dramatic quarter-final second leg at the Nou Camp and 4-1 up on aggregate but the visitors rallied to pull two goals back and leave themselves needing only one more to advance to the last four.

In the frenetic closing stages, Real defender Sergio Ramos was shown a second yellow card and sent off and his team mates furiously berated the match officials as they left the pitch.

"It's more difficult each time to beat Real Madrid and that's why we are pleased with the game today," Guardiola, who has only suffered one reverse to Real in 14 matches since he took charge in 2008, told a news conference.

"Madrid are a great team and that's why the victory is worth so much," the former Barca and Spain midfielder added.

"They played a good match but over the 180 minutes we were the deserved winners."

Barca fullback Daniel Alves, who blasted a spectacular goal to make it 2-0 in first-half added time, said Real had played "phenomenally well".

"This is the version of Real Madrid that causes us the most problems because they pressure you a lot," the Brazilian said.

"They were closing us down well and making it difficult for us to bring the ball forward.

"But the important thing is that we have the victory in the tie in the bag."

SOUR NOTE

Barca's success, which set up a semi-final against Valencia or Levante, was soured by injuries to playmaker Andres Iniesta and forward Alexis Sanchez.

Iniesta damaged a thigh muscle in the first half and had to be replaced by Pedro, who netted the opening goal, while Guardiola said Sanchez had also picked up an injury that could keep him out for several games.

Real coach Jose Mourinho, who turns 49 on Thursday, gave a subdued performance at his news conference and refrained from directly criticising the match officials when quizzed about some of the more controversial decisions taken during the game.

However, he did make a reference to some of his players saying it was "impossible to win at the Nou Camp", an allusion to the belief he expressed last season that Barca get favourable treatment from referees.

"I am not insinuating anything," he said when asked if the referee had performed poorly.

"You are the ones who understand football, I understand less," added the Portuguese, who has an increasingly testy relationship with the Spanish media.

"Although I don't read or listen much to the sports press I will wait for your reports to find out your opinion."