The draw for the Copa del Rey semifinals this Friday leaves two great confrontations in search of the final that will be played at the La Cartuja stadium on the weekend of April 18 and 19. In a two-legged tie, the first semi-final will be Atlético – Barcelona, where the first leg will be played between February 10, 11 or 12 at the Metropolitano and the second leg almost a month later between March 3, 4 or 5 at the Camp Nou. In the second semi-final, there will be a double Basque derby. With the same possible dates as in the other tie, the first leg will be played in San Mamés and the return leg in Anoeta.
Barcelona, current champion of the Copa del Rey, will seek a new final in La Cartuja against an Atlético that has not won this competition since 2013, when it beat Real Madrid at the Bernabéu in extra time with a comeback. Flick’s team already beat the red and white in the League this season 3-1 in the Barça fiefdom with a comeback after Baena’s initial goal. Barça reaches this semi-final without having crossed the First Division on its way. First they eliminated Guadalajara with a 0-2 score. Then he left Racing de Santander behind, also 0-2. And finally, this Tuesday, against Albacete, Real Madrid’s executioner in the competition, Lamine and Araujo put Flick’s team ahead, but a goal from Javi Moreno at the end of the match left the game hanging in the balance.
Atlético, for its part, has also played three qualifiers like Barça when playing the Spanish Super Cup last January. Simeone’s men first kicked out Atlético Baleares with a 2-3. The next victim was Dépor, where a great goal from Griezmann from a direct free kick gave the rojiblancos the pass. Lastly, and where debutant Ademola Lookman shone.
The second semi-final brings an exciting double Basque derby just five days after the last one played in San Mamés, where the match was tied (1-1), but with a Real Sociedad much superior to Athetic. A goal by Ruiz de Galarreta in the final moments after the expulsion of Brais Méndez distributed a point for each team. The first league derby, however, went to Real Sociedad (3-2), then with Sergio Francisco on the bench blue white. The San Sebastian team won with a last-gasp goal from Jon Gorrotxategi.
Athletic also avoided the first two cup rounds by playing the Super Cup in Arabia. Ernesto Valverde’s men beat Ourense 0-1 in extra time with a goal from Jauregizar. Then, in a new extra time, they threw out Cultural Leonesa with a 3-4 score in a great game. And finally, this Wednesday in the quarterfinals, they broke Valencia’s dream at Mestalla with a goal from Iñaki Williams in added time (1-2).
Real Sociedad, on the other hand, is the only team of the four semi-finalists that played two extra rounds. In the first round they beat Negreira 0-3. Then they beat Reus 0-2. In the round of 32 they eliminated Eldense with a short result and a goal in stoppage time (1-2). In the round of 16 they faced Osasuna, already with Matarazzo on the bench, where the tie was decided on penalties.
Badalona – Barcelona and Atlético – Tenerife in the Queen’s Cup
In the women’s team, also a double match, the matches will be Badalona – Barcelona and Atlético – Tenerife. The Barça team will play the second leg at home in the Catalan derby and the red and white team will travel to the Canary Islands in the second match. The first leg matches will be played on March 10, 11 or 12. The return matches will be played between March 17, 18 and 19.
