Barcelona on Wednesday needed extra-time to reach the Copa del Rey final, with a 3-2 aggregate win over Sevilla coming just two days after a police raid on the club and the arrest of their former president.
Having trailed 2-0 from the first leg, Denmark international Martin Braithwaite hit the crucial goal in the fifth minute of extra-time with a diving header off a Jordi Alba cross.
Gerard Pique had equalized in the fourth minute of stoppage-time with virtually the last play of the match to save Barcelona.
Photo: AFP
The veteran defender headed in at the near post after a fine cross from Antoine Griezmann.
That was after Ousmane Dembele, who scored in the 2-0 win at Sevilla in La Liga at the weekend, had given the 30-time Copa del Rey winners a 12th-minute lead in the second leg with a right-foot drive from outside the penalty area.
Sevilla could have killed the game off in the 73rd minute to deny Barcelona their place in the final for a 42nd time.
They were awarded a penalty when Lucas Ocampos was brought down by Oscar Mingueza, but Ocampos saw his tame right-foot effort from the penalty spot saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Flagging Sevilla were then reduced to 10 men in stoppage-time when Fernando was red-carded for a foul on Francisco Trincao.
“The team deserved to qualify,” Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said. “This is an important step in earning a title.”
It was a much-needed win for Barcelona after former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, chief executive Oscar Grau, head of legal services Roma Gomez Ponti and Bartomeu’s advisor, Jaume Masferrer, were arrested by Catalan police, who searched the club’s offices on Monday morning.
They were all questioned in relation to last year’s “Barcagate” scandal.
The club holds its presidential elections later this week.
The search of Barcelona’s stadium was part of a probe into allegations the club carried out a defamation campaign against current and former players who were critical of Bartomeu.
Barcelona next face either Athletic Bilbao or Levante UD, who are 1-1 in their semi-final, in the final on April 17 in Seville.
However, before that, Barcelona are to attempt another comeback effort when they take on Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie next week.
Barcelona trail 4-1 from the first leg.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS