Barcelona faced off against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium earlier tonight as they hoped to secure a positive result in the first leg of their Cope del Rey semi-final tie. The Catalan giants made a bright start to the game and scored the opening goal in the 26th minute when Eder Militao scored an unfortunate own goal. Barca went into the half-time interval 1-0 up on the scoreline.
Xavi’s men sat on their lead well in the second 45 minutes and earned an impressive 1-0 victory away from home.
Let’s take a look at how each Barcelona player fared during the match against Los Blancos.
GK: Marc-André ter Stegen – 7/10
The Barca keeper didn’t have a save to make in the game and earned an easy clean sheet on the road.
RB: Ronald Araujo – 8.5/10
He gave a good account of himself on the defensive end of the field and did enough to keep Vinicius Junior quiet throughout the 90 minutes.
CB: Jules Kounde – 8/10
Kounde won his fair share of aerial duels and produced a solid display at the back. He did enough work defensively to keep the opposition at bay.
CB: Marcos Alonso – 7/10
The Spaniard did what was required of him when defending inside his half and will be happy with the clean sheet.
LB: Alejandro Balde – 7/10
Balde didn’t do much wrong at the back and had a few lively moments in the Real Madrid half.
CM: Frenkie de Jong – 9/10
He began the game well and ran the show for Barcelona at the centre of the park. De Jong deserves to get the man of the match award.
CM: Sergio Busquets – 7/10
Busquets offered decent protection for his teammates at the back.
CM: Franck Kessie – 7/10
He played a big part in the lead-up to Militao’s own goal in the first half. It was a bright performance from Kessie tonight.
RW: Raphinha – 7/10
Raphinha caused a few headaches for the opposition defenders and came back to defend when needed.
ST: Ferran Torres – 6.5/10
The Spanish talent worked hard but never looked like he would find the back of the net.
LW: Gavi – 7/10
Gavi linked up play well with others around him but didn’t do enough to register a goal.
Substitutes:
LW: Ansu Fati – 6/10
He offered very little after coming off the bench.
CM: Sergi Roberto – N/A
Roberto came on for the final few minutes of the contest.
