Copa Del Ray: Athletic Club knocks Barcelona out to reach semis
It was another disappointment for Barcelona, as the club was expecting to go to the Copa del Rey semifinals for the second straight season.
Barcelona suffered a major blow in their bid to retain the La Liga title as they were held 2-2 by Celta Vigo, giving Real Madrid a chance to go two points ahead at the top of the points table. Even though Luis Suarez seemed to be at his usual best and scored both the Barca goals at Balaidos, Celta Vigo were equal on task as well.
The Uruguayan striker had put the Catalan giants in front on two occasions but strikes from Fyodor Smolov and Iago Aspas put the hosts at level on Saturday. Barcelona currently stand at 69 points having played 32 games, while Madrid have 67 points from 31 games. The Zinedine Zidane-led side will face Espanyol on Sunday.
Suarez, who underwent knee surgery in January and would not have returned this season had it not been postponed, scored the first goal in the 20th minute off a surprise free-kick from Lionel Messi. Everyone had expected the Argentine to shoot but he put a perfect cross for Suarez to head in.
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Messi remained at the heart of the matters as he tried to score directly from a corner after one of his corners – headed in target by Gerard Pique – was successfully dealt by the Celta Vigo defenders in the initial minutes of the opening half. The first half ended with the visitors leading.
Celta Vigo scored when Arturo Vidal played a careless pass and allowed Asaps to run free and feed Smolov who caused the maximum damage in the 50th minute.
Suarez came to the rescue again as he gave the tourists a lead in the 60th minute, making his team believe that they have weathered the storm for the day. But Celta hit back again with Aspas curling around the side of the wall and into the corner with two minutes left of regulation time.
Even the late goal did not sound an alarm in Barcelona’s defence as their lackadaisical show had almost handed their team a defeat in the stoppage time. However, Celta forward Nolito missed a golden chance at the back post.
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