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Key occasions
18min: Lamine Yamal cuts in from that proper wing and smacks a low left-footed shot that sneaks fractionally previous Courtois’s far submit! He’s the brightest spark on the sector proper now.
15min: Rodrygo dribbles into a sophisticated place for Actual, on their proper wing, however the transfer breaks down and Barça break at lightning-quick velocity. Raphinha crosses for Ferran Torres and a few determined defending solves an pressing downside for Actual Madrid.
12min: Lamine Yamal makes a shiny run down the fitting for Barcelona. The rating is nil-nil.
“I’d love to look at the sport however a 10pm kick-off is getting a bit too close to my bedtime,” emails Mark. “How do the gamers put up with it? It should be laborious to be at your peak efficiency stage so late within the day. Good night time.
“P.S. Effectively, if the sport is thrilling sufficient I would be capable to watch for it…”
9 min: A couple of gremlins within the machine tonight, I’m afraid to report, and I’m unable to look at the dwell match. Relaxation assured I’ll maintain you up to date with all the important thing occasions although …
2min: Apologies, a number of technical points right here, please bear with me.
First half kick-off!
Right here we go.
“There are nonetheless no occasions for this match,” states the dwell web page on the official Copa del Rey web site. Oh, you couldn’t be extra improper.
So did Barney Ronay, in sometimes wonderful vogue:
“Decide a card. Any card. No. Not that one. Wait. Preserve your eyes on the ball. The glass. Cling on.”
Actual Madrid had been actually not excellent towards Arsenal within the Champions League a few weeks again.
Sid Lowe mirrored on their exit:
Groups
Actual Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé has to make do with a spot on the bench whereas the 18-year-old wunderkind, Pau Cubarsí, begins for Barcelona.
Actual Madrid: Courtois; Vázquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy; Tchouaméni, Ceballos, Valverde, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinícius. Substitutes: Lunin, Gonzalez, Alaba, Mbappé, Modric, Guler, Endrick, Vallejo, Garcia, Brahim Díaz.
Barcelona: Szczesny; Koundé, Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, Martín; Pedri, De Jong, Olmo; Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Ferran Torres. Substitutes: Ter Stegen, Araujo, Gavi, Ansu Fati, Iñaki, Torre, Christensen, Fermin, Victor, Eric, Fort.
What a sport that is shaping as much as be, by the best way.
Preamble
“Confronted by rumours in the previous couple of hours, we want to talk our workforce has by no means proposed renouncing taking part in the ultimate,” Actual Madrid mentioned in a press release launched late final night time earlier than this high-stakes encounter towards Barcelona. “Our membership understands that the unlucky and inappropriate declarations made by the referees assigned to this sport, 24 hours earlier than the ultimate, can not stain a sporting occasion of worldwide significance.”
Hardly a serene buildup, then, however right here we’re. Actual’s affirmation that they’d grace us with their presence capped a day of uncertainty on Friday after the appointed referee, Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, spoke of repeated criticism geared toward him on Actual Madrid’s TV channel and by the membership’s followers. “When a baby goes to high school and other people inform him his father is a thief, it’s tousled,” he mentioned in a press convention.
Actual Madrid consequently cancelled the pre-match pleasantries in protest, however we do have a sport on, and it guarantees to be extra-spicy. Sid Lowe has the complete story of that contentious buildup, and kick-off might be arising at 9pm UK time.
Vamos!