La Liga - Barca relief after surviving Real test

Thu, 26 Jan 00:36:00 2012

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

2011-12 Copa del Rey Real Madrid's players argue with a referee against Barcelona - 0

Barca, who lost to Real in last year's final, were 2-0 ahead by half-time 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, said.

"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 full-back 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."

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."

Reuters

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  1. mourinho is a great caoch and a bussines man,and all so­ a show man,thats who he is,ppl shld respect that we all­ have our ways of living,i love him,,and i think he is­ best caoch on the planet today,with a team he ll­ achieve if giving the chance,hello when did he came to­ madrid for god sake

    From celestine, on Sun 29 Jan 17:25

  2. Bad losers,ask me y,when berca played madrid 2-2 in­ supa cup earlier dis season­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥­ started running dere mouth on media cos­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥­ felt­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥ r­ almost on berca,claimin 2 fans nxt time­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥­ will defeat berca.then d nxt liga game(el classico)­ berca beat dem 3-1,ask me'­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥­ αℓℓ kept quite,thank God­ it was complete 11-11 no redcard,if there was red­ madrid players will say­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥­ lost cos of redcard.madrid only won 1 of d last 13 el­ classico

    From Oluwatosin, on Sat 28 Jan 16:49

  3. Bad losers,ask me y,when berca played madrid 2-2 in­ supa cup earlier dis season­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥­ started running dere mouth on media cos­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥­ felt­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥ r­ almost on berca,claimin 2 fans nxt time­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥­ will defeat berca.then d nxt liga game(el classico)­ berca beat dem 3-1,ask me'­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥­ αℓℓ kept quite,thank God­ it was complete 11-11 no redcard,if there was red­ madrid players will say­ D̶̲̥̅̊&­ ;#949;̲̣̣̣&#805­ ;γ̲̣̣̥­ lost cos of redcard.madrid only won 1 of d last 13 el­ classico

    From Oluwatosin, on Sat 28 Jan 7:15

  4. What was "Impossible" was how the ref could­ fail to send-off Lass for two yellow cards in the­ first, that was impossible, and another example of a­ ref going easy on madrids dirty players.
    The Ramos­ sending-off was just a token gesture from the ref as it­ was so late on and had no real impact on the match. It­ was just a case of another weak referee saying that­ i'm not afraid to send someone off, when all it did­ was give madrid another get-out.
    Pepe should not have­ even been allowed to play in this game as he is just­ SCUM. But Barca aren't allowed to say this or­ Madrid and the "Not-So-Special-One" might cry­ again.

    From ceefoo, on Fri 27 Jan 10:13

  5. What a silly and childish excuse from someone that­ claims to be a top coach.. Mourinho has never won at­ camp nou whether with Madrid, Inter, Chelsea or Porto­ so pls spare me this anti Madrid nonsense.. To Say a­ team cannot win in Camp Nou is utter nonsense.­ Liverpool 2007 did it with less talented player ( No­ disrespect to Liverpool) and Rubin Kazan did it too.­ It's this simple- Play to win you will win. Believe­ me Madrid played this well only because they had­ nothing to lose so they went all out.. It makes me­ wonder why Mourinho didn't play like this in the­ first leg at home.
    Expect him to play for a draw in­ Classico return league in La Liga.. Such a sore loser

    From Donchino, on Fri 27 Jan 8:48

  6. Everytime Madrid loses they always blame the referees­ or any other excuse. The way to become a great team is­ to be able to accept defeat and victory no matter what.­ Its been proven that everytime Barca wins is because­ they played better. If Madrid cannot accept­ this...well.... it must be tha influence­ of...Mourin...who??? I'm not a Madrid fan...but I­ still had some respect for them. But now with how dirty­ they have been playing..."down the gutter".

    From Jose Ma., on Fri 27 Jan 8:18

  7. (24.Barca is full of class on and off the pitch! Read­ the­ comments of Pep and Alves or watch their play and­ will­ see they are the best! Visca el Barca!!! Campeon­ del­ Mundo) ­ okkkkkkk

    From Reyad Mohammad, on Fri 27 Jan 6:59

  8. Barca is full of class on and off the pitch! Read the­ comments of Pep and Alves or watch their play and will­ see they are the best! Visca el Barca!!! Campeon del­ Mundo!

    From damnsoldja, on Fri 27 Jan 4:52

  9. 5 trophies again !­ oleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­ !!!!!!

    From Jim the Greek, on Fri 27 Jan 3:15

  10. and of course, barca will win 5 trophies again this­ season. last year they only missed cup, this year maybe­ they will miss the championship. but still, they will­ win all the other trophies !! visca­ barcaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From Jim the Greek, on Fri 27 Jan 3:15

  11. REAL'S PLAYERS KNOW IT THAT BARCA IS A CUT ABOVE­ THE REST. YOU ALL THINK THAT THEY DON'T KNOW THAT­ ??? OF COURSE THEY DO, BUT THEY CHEAT AND KICK IN ORDER­ TO FACE MESSI'S EMPIRE... THEY CANNOT DO­ OTHERWISE...THAT'S WHY THE PLAY DIRTY WAY

    From Jim the Greek, on Fri 27 Jan 3:13

  12. Poor Mourinho and his team cant accept defeat. Barca­ was much-much better in Madrid, they deserve to go­ through.
    They complain about the ref? The biggest of­ the ref not sending off Diarra in the first half.

    From kadas.gabor, on Fri 27 Jan 1:19

  13. pls,let us stop using abusive language in this page.and­ why do we need to kill ourself b/c of RM & Barca­ matches when we have nothing to gain than fun.pls,let­ us pray to God to bless us like these prayers we want­ to die 4.

    From SAMUEL, on Fri 27 Jan 0:35

  14. I, as a Madrid fan was so delighted by watching this­ performance. I'm proud of you guys. So, Mr.­ Mourinho Let them fly no matter what the score will be­ at the end.

    From Ash, on Fri 27 Jan 0:01

  15. Barcelona Dream Team, the shift key is right there.­ Learn to use it. Look at how Alves talks about Real­ Madrid. He clearly respects them. Why can't you?

    From Jón, on Thu 26 Jan 22:30

  16. Not sure what match Matt watched. Barca definitely the­ better side and deserved winner. It was thrilling­ football played as it should be by both sides. I'll­ admit I could do without the surrounding of the referee­ on decisions but this is Spain and the players are very­ passionate and in the heat of battle. The referees are­ prepared for it. This I understand and that's the­ way it has been and will continue to be. I'll­ surely take the passion over the passionless.

    From tomas.americano, on Thu 26 Jan 22:08

  17. I am getting sick and tired for madrid fans acting like­ crybabies and making excuses every time they don't­ win or draw. They either blame the ref or say that­ Barca dives. It's funny because same thing can be­ said about madrid. I am also sick of the refs favoring­ madrid, you madrid fans think other wise, but if you­ look passed that madrid dome of yours that you have in­ your heads you will see the ref really favors madrid­ more. Diarra should have gotten at least a second­ yellow card for the foul on Messi, but the ref does not­ give him the red card and saves madrid. In the end the­ ref does madrid a favor by giving ramos a second yellow­ card which it was deserved, but what I mean a favor to­ madrid is because in the last 2 minutes he gives madrid­ player a red card so they can use it as an excuse as to­ why they lost. If madrid fans think that the ref did­ Barca a favor with that red card, you must be mistake,­ if the ref wanted to do Barca a favor, he would have­ send diarra off in the first half. As for the goal that­ ramos scored, it was a clear foul, go watch the­ replays, Alves was about to jump and head the ball and­ ramos goes and pulls him down by his arm, a clear foul,­ if you don't see that then you are blind or­ ignorant. Now talk about the ref, what about the first­ leg, the ref was so favoring madrid that half their­ team deserved red cards. What about pepe who stomped on­ Messis hand in front of the ref and the ref refused to­ give out the second yellow or red card to pepe and on­ top of that, the royal spanish football federation­ refused to do anything even though they had all the­ evidence, but perez the madrid president sits in one of­ those seats and they don't do nothing to pepe,­ where as Balloteli gets 4 match ban for same foul as­ pepe in premier league. What about the two penalties­ that Sanchez could have had, they were clear penalties.­ Madrid been getting penalties for diving in and outside­ the box but Barca can't get any.

    From Barcelona Dream Team Nr 2, on Thu 26 Jan 22:06

  18. hmm very biased in Barca's favour..
    In fact there­ was none of RM players that did not deserve booking.­ Despite of that only one was sent off at times it did­ not matter.

    From andreiyelckin, on Thu 26 Jan 21:45

  19. What a drama, so much play-acting, intimidating the­ referee, and what biased refereeing towards Barcelona.­ I am surprised they ever lose a game as every foul is a­ yellow card for the other team, Messi is­ over-protected, and every decision goes their way.­ Alves does two fouls in a row both yellow card and gets­ nothing!!! Goal gets disallowed when both pulling...
    Do­ Barcelona run FIFA or something???

    From Matt, on Thu 26 Jan 20:46

  20. Pepe is just horrible, no wonder the Madrid fans are­ getting the ache with the Portugese Clique.......they­ don't help themselves.

    From Paul W, on Thu 26 Jan 19:17
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