Barcelona will face either Athletic Bilbao or Levante in the final on April 17th in Seville, who are 1-1 in the semifinals.
Martin Braithwaite scored the winning goal for Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-finals in extra time. AP
Barcelona: Barcelona needed extra time to reach the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday. Just two days after a police operation against the club and the arrest of its former president, there was a 3-2 aggregate victory over Sevilla.
After the 2-0 in the first leg, the Danish international Martin Braithwaite scored in the fifth minute of extra time the decisive goal with a header from a cross from Jordi Alba.
Gerard Pique had practically equalized the last game of the game in the fourth minute of stoppage time to save Barca.
The experienced international headed after a beautiful Antoine Griezmann crossed at the near post.
That was after Ousmane Dembele, who scored a goal in the 2-0 La Liga win in Seville at the weekend, won the 30-time Spanish Cup in the second leg in 12 .Minute with his right foot from outside the field gave Area.
Sevilla could have ended the game in the 73rd minute to deny Barca their place in the final for the 42nd time.
That Flag gen-Sevilla was reduced to 10 men in added time when the Brazilian Fernando was put on the red card for a foul on Francisco Trincao.
« For their work and honesty. We’re more aggressive, we’ve always created opportunities, the team has improved a lot.
« This is a very important result for the club, for the players and of course for me too. This is an important step towards a title to win. «
It was a much needed victory for Barcelona after former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, current managing director Oscar Grau, head of Roma legal Gomez Ponti and Bartomeu’s advisor Jaume Masferrer on Monday morning from the Catalan Police arrested who raided the club’s offices.
The search of the Barcelona stadium was part of an investigation into allegations that the club had launched a defamation campaign against current and former players criticizing Bartomeu.
The Spanish radio station Cadena Ser claimed in February 2020 that Barca had been covering up excessive payments to a company called I3 Ventures, which it hired to run the Ima ge of the club on social media.
Part of the social media campaign was the criticism of current and former players such as Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez as well as the legendary coach Pep Guardiola.
Barcelona scores in the final On April 17th in Seville either Athletic Bilbao or Levante, who are 1-1 in the semi-finals.
Before that, Barcelona will try another comeback when they play next week in the second leg of the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain.
« We had the worst feeling in football when we hit the last kick of the game (in normal time). »
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March 04, 2021 8:51:03 AM IST
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Ref: https://www.firstpost.com
