Varane helps Real Madrid escape defeat against Barcelona

Raphael Varane's strike earned Real Madrid a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final, after Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring.

With this result, Barcelona has a slight advantage over the Bernabeu home team, because in the second leg they will play at home at Camp Nou. A goalless draw will secure them a ticket to the final.

With his inability to "shoot," Ronaldo on Real's side has had his scoring streak broken after 5 consecutive matches scoring in "classic" confrontations, and Messi has not been able to break the record of 18 goals of the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano.

Contrary to the injury information reported by the press, Cristiano Ronaldo was still in Real Madrid's starting lineup in the "classic" match against Barcelona in the first leg of the King's Cup.

This is really good news for Madrid fans, because the Portuguese striker is considered the key to the success of the "white vultures."

CR7 is being compared to a nightmare for Barca's defense in El Clasico matches. According to statistics, since wearing the shirtReal, the Portuguese superstar has participated in 15 "classic" matches and scored 8 goals, including 3 goals in the Spanish Super Cup, 3 goals in the King's Cup and 2 goals in Liga.

Ronaldo was on the field but Real could not have Iker Caillas, Pepe, Sergio Ramos,Fabio Coentrao and AngelMoveMariadue to injury and suspension. This is really a big challenge for Jose Mourinho.

Real's defense was in great disarray when Michael Essien, Raphael Varane, Carvalho Alvaro Arbelo came on the field from the start to block Barcelona's attacking power. Goalkeeper Diego Lopez was given the starting position by Mourinho instead of Adan. In the attack, Karim Benzema was the highest player.

Meanwhile, Barcelona will certainly come to the Bernabeu with great determination. A victory will not only give them an advantage for the second leg but also confirm that in Spain, Barcelona is absolute.

Barcelona has fielded its strongest squad with great players like Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas and Pedro. In addition, Barca also welcomed the return of Pique to form a steely central defender pair with Puyol to protect Pinto's goal. Messi has a great chance to equal the record of 18 goals scored by Real legend Alfredo Di Stefano in "classic" matches. Messi has now scored 17 goals.

Immediately after the referee Carlos Clos's whistle, Real Madrid poured into Barcelona's half. They were soon awarded a dangerous free kick after Pique fouled Ronaldo. However, the Portuguese star's free kick was successfully blocked by Pinto.

After this situation, the speed of the match was pushed up very high. This is what millions of fans are waiting to watch this confrontation.

In the 9th minute, Essien crossed the ball from the right wing, hit Alba's foot and made the ball go in a very difficult trajectory, forcing Pinto to struggle to block it.

10 minutes of the "classic" match have passed, Real had two dangerous situations from Ronaldo's free kick and Essien's pass that hit Alba's leg, while Barcelona could not create any dangerous situations, as Messi was being blocked by the home team's defense.

In the past few minutes, Real Madrid has been the team that has been pressing the field and holding the ball more. Meanwhile, Barcelona has been playing quite slowly compared to what they have shown since the beginning of the season.

In the 19th minute, Alonso had a smart pass for Benzema to run down but unfortunately his final pass to Ronaldo was inaccurate.

Just two minutes later, the visitors were awarded a free kick. Xavi took it well but the ball hit the crossbar of Diego Lopez's goal. This was also Barca's first dangerous situation - that was the warning the team gave to Real.

The game is more balanced after Barca gradually calmed down. In the 24th minute, a mistake by a Real defender allowed Pedro to steal the ball and pass it to Xavi to shoot immediately, but Varane blocked the ball right on the goal line.

Real Madrid responded shortly after when Ronaldo passed the ball to Benzema, but his shot went wide of the post. In the last few minutes, Real Madrid's youngster José Callejon has been a bit lackluster as he has not been able to create any coordination with his teammates.

In the 36th minute, Essien passed the ball to Callejon who escaped down the right corner and then crossed it in, but the Barca defender blocked the ball right in front of Benzema's shoe.

In the remaining minutes of the first half, the speed of the match continued to be pushed up. However, no goals were scored after the halftime whistle of referee Carlos Clos.

Just like the first minutes of the first half, Real Madrid flooded Barcelona's field as soon as the second half started. Benzema coordinated with Ronaldo, dribbled across the goal and then kicked with his left foot but the ball went high above the crossbar.

As the home team's stars continued to score chances, Barcelona suddenly broke the deadlock. In the 50th minute, from Callejon's clearance, Messi swooped in and passed the ball to Fabregas, who crossed the ball into Diego Lopez's net. 1-0 for Barcelona.

With the opening goal, Barca began to control the ball with small passes in the middle of the field. Meanwhile, Real Madrid were trying hard to find an equalizer. Mourinho decided to bring Modric on to replace Callejon.

In the 60th minute, from a cross from his teammate on the right wing, Ronaldo rushed in to head the ball but unfortunately it went wide of the post.

In the 65th minute, after a pass from Andres Iniesta, Dani Alves quickly fired a shot but goalkeeper Diego Lopez punched the ball away.

Seeing what was happening, the "Special One" continued to send Higuain onto the field to replace Benzema to change and hope to get an equalizer.

Meanwhile, Barcelona have been playing better in the last few minutes. If Fabregas had connected with Alves, the score would have been 2-0 for the visitors.

Just a few minutes later, Pedro had a great acceleration and then shot but the ball hit the post of Real Madrid's goal and went out.

Clearly, Barcelona is the team with the advantage over the home team. Specifically, the Catalan team's ball possession time is up to 63% while Real Madrid is showing weakness with only 37%.

Although not having the best game as Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid still got the equalizer thanks to Varane in the minute. From Mesut Oezil's free kick, Varane jumped high and headed the ball into Pinto's net, equalizing the score 1-1.

Varane's goal helped Real Madrid's fighting spirit increase significantly. That made the match more attractive and dramatic in the final minutes. However, 1-1 was also the final score of the match.

Starting lineup:

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1):Diego Lopez - Michael Essien, Raphael Varane, Carvalho, Alvaro Arbeloa - Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira - José Callejon, Mesut Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo - Karim Benzema.

Barcelona (4-3-3):Jose Manuel Pinto - Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Jordi Alba - Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fábregas - Pedro, Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta.

Goal:Varane (80) - Fabregas (50)./.

According to (Vietnam+) - DT