The draw for the quarterfinals of the Copa de la Reina, held this Wednesday in the Ciudad del Fútbol de las Rozas, has produced one more classic this season. Real Madrid, the second classified in League F, will face Barcelona, the dominator of national competitions for more than five years, in a single match at the Alfredo di Stéfano stadium. Of the 20 previous matches, White only won one. The other three matches in the penultimate round of the Cup will measure Atlético, double champion of the tournament, against Athletic; to Real Sociedad with Levante Badalona; and to Madrid CFF with Tenerife. The qualifiers will be played on February 3, 4 and 5.
The match between Madrid and Barça will be the second between both clubs this season. In the first, held in November, the team captained by Alexia Putellas attended more than 36,000 people. The result was a bit misleading thanks to Cata Coll’s saves and Madrid’s lack of success in the final meters. The white team, led this season by Pau Quesada, with which he tried to steal from Barcelona’s start to launch quick transitions. The plan worked at times, but the team lacked forcefulness against the opposing goal.
In addition to the classic cup winner, the azulgranas and the whites will face each other at the Di Stéfano in the F League at the end of March and, probably, they will also do so in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. For this tie to happen, Real, who missed a golden opportunity in December to sneak into the top four of the Champions League, have to fall into the play off which gives access to the penultimate round to Paris FC, a rival a priori inferior.
The matchup with Barcelona in the Cup once again gives Madrid an opportunity to measure what its true level is with respect to the team that This year, the Colombian Linda Caicedo has taken a very relevant step forward and her new position on the field, more focused to participate more in the game, has benefited both her and the team. The tie will also be held in a single match at the Di Stéfano against a Barcelona that has suffered long-term losses in recent months as relevant as that of the three-time Ballon d’Or winner, Aitana Bonmatí, or the pivot Patri Guijarro.
Despite the injuries, Barça is a total favorite. except for 2023, when they were disqualified for improper alignment against Osasuna.
