Seeeeeeeeee ya
Real Madrid and FC Barcelona drew the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final 1-1 on Wednesday night, with goals coming from Lucas Vazquez and Malcom.
Both sides rested big names, most notably Gareth Bale and Lionel Messi – who was suffering from a dead leg sustained during Barça’s draw against Valencia last weekend – which leaves the tie delicately poised for the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Chances were few and far between, but one of the highlights of the game was seeing Madrid captain Sergio Ramos sent flying by Barça right-back Nelson Semedo.
Semedo put in one of his best performances yet for the club, constantly offering an attacking threat down the right in tandem with goalscorer Malcom, and keeping his calm in defence when under pressure.
As he bombed down the right-wing, the Portuguese disguised a cross by chopping inside. Ramos, it’s safe to say, did not anticipate this piece of skill, as he slid to block the cross that never came, and went sliding along the turf, almost colliding with the advertising hoarding.
https://twitter.com/BWWmedia/status/1093479779691626497
Ramos is a divisive character, and his critics thoroughly enjoyed this moment, revelling in his poor defending.
Miraculously, the Spain international managed to last the entire Clásico without picking up a red card, despite being cautioned after just ten minutes.
Elsewhere, Philippe Coutinho was widely criticised for an ineffective performance when Barça most needed his creativity. The former Liverpool man has struggled to hit a consistent run of form at the Camp Nou, with manager Ernesto Valverde unsure of where best to deploy him on the pitch.
Many envisaged he would replace Andrés Iniesta on the left of the midfield trio, but given Neymar’s departure, he has often been stuck on the left wing, with his compatriot Arthur slotting in as a central midfielder.
