Barcelona walked on the razor`s edge, but after much trouble qualified for the 1/8 finals of the King`s Cup. The Catalans missed two penalties in the regular time and only in overtime came to a 2-0 victory against the third division Corneia. The first goal was scored by Ousmane Dembele in the 92nd minute, and in the last seconds Martin Brightway scored. Dembele came in as a reserve and failed from the penalty spot with a comic performance in the 80th minute. Before the break, Miralem Pjanic also failed to score a penalty. The hosts, who eliminated the La Liga leader Atletico Madrid in the previous round, also had their chances, no matter how rarely they attacked.
Despite the victory, the game of Barcelona raises many questions. The Catalans avoided the shame of Real Madrid, which was eliminated from the tournament yesterday by the third division Alcoyano, but showed many weaknesses in all lines. This was Kuman`s debut as Barca`s coach in the King`s Cup. However, he won the trophy at the helm of Valencia in 2008. The Dutchman and his team experienced great disappointment just a few days ago, when they dramatically lost the final prediction by
soccer rankings of the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Bilbao. Today, most of the starters did not play, and their deputies did not convince with their performance. Los Coules had never played against this opponent in an official match, but Corneia regularly meets with the various youth formations of Barca. The team from Segunda B eliminated Marino on their way with 1:0, after which they defeated Atletico with the same result. In the championship, however, the boys of head coach Guillermo Fernandez are in a series of 6 games without a win - 3 draws and 3 losses. Lionel Messi was penalized and Jordi Alba and Frankie de Jong were given a break. Kuman included in the group five players from the backup team, and one of them - Ilaish Moriba, was a starter. He acted in the middle of the field, along with Miralem Pjanic and Ricky Puch. The three strikers were Antoine Griezmann, Martin Brightwright and Trinkao.
Neto was at the door, and Oscar Mingesa, Ronald Araujo, Clement Langle and Junior Firpo started in defense. Among the reserves were Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Samuel Yumtiti, Sergio Busquets, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele. The hosts from Corneia played with two strikers in the face of Javier Antiveros and Eloy. Barca did not have the expected dominance at the beginning and Corneia`s players reached two corners, but they did not lead to dangers in front of Neto. Griezmann looked distracted, Trinkao and Brightwright were not active enough either, and the first quarter of an hour passed without the Blaugranas creating a clear position. In the 15th minute Moriba centered and the ball touched Moreno`s hand from the hosts, but the referee Carlos Del Cerro Grande did not give a penalty, and there is no VAR in the King`s Cup, so the situation was not reviewed. In the middle of the first half, Barcelona`s defense did not orient itself well after a corner, but Antiveros also slowed down and failed to make a good shot. Los Cules responded with a kick over Trinkao`s door. In the 33rd minute, the young Portuguese was again close to opening the score. After his shot, the ball bounced at the feet of Esteyes, but Juan
Soccer predictions - more details and information:
Soccer predictions
Read all
Soccer reviews and advices