The Venezuelan Darwin Machis entered the second half and Yangel Herrera is isolated by covid-19.
Courtesy | Lionel Messi conceived the plays of two agonizing goals that forced extra time
Down by two goals and with a couple of minutes to play, Barcelona finally regained its character worthy of a champion.
Lionel Messi created the plays of two agonizing goals that forced extra time, Frenkie de Jong scored the winning goal and Barcelona avoided elimination by winning 5-3 over Granada on Wednesday, thereby certifying their passage to the semifinals in the Copa del King.
“It is the day that I feel happiest as a Barcelona coach. I am proud of the character, of the quality of my players ”, enthused the Dutch Ronald Koeman.
Messi led Barça’s comeback, losing by two goals in the 88th minute.
Antoine Griezmann and Jordi Alba each contributed doubles for the Catalan team to return to the round of the best four and keep alive their hope of avoiding a drought of titles.
The victory came three days after the embarrassing leak of Messi’s billionaire contract.
It is a new episode in the chaotic situation of a club beset by debts and political turbulence within it since last season.
Suspense to the end
Wednesday’s confrontation also brought intrigue and suspense, especially at the end of the complement and in overtime.
Griezmann approached the visitors taking advantage of a long pass from Messi and shooting two minutes after the end of regular time.
The Argentine star found the Frenchman back in the area with a perfect pass, and Griezmann supplied for Alba to equalize in the second minute of injury.
A firm header from Griezmann at 100 minutes gave Barça the advantage, but a penalty by American Sergiño Dest led to Fede Vico equalizing for the locals three minutes later.
De Jong returned the lead to Barcelona with a point-blank shot, after a shot from Messi was stopped at 108.
Alba closed the scoring with a great volley after a pass from Griezmann at 113.
The Blaugrana team fell to Athletic Bilbao in the quarterfinals of the previous season. In the semifinals, the Basque team ended up eliminating Granada.
This time, the collapse at the end prevented the Nasrid team from reappearing in the round of the best four.
Barcelona did not get a single title the previous season, something that had not happened since 2007-2008.
In this edition of the Copa del Rey, it had already needed an extension to eliminate Cornellá from the third division in the round of 32.
In addition, he played extra time in both of this year’s Super Cup matches – a triumph over Real Sociedad in the semifinals and a loss to Athletic in the final.
Now, it looks closer to an urgently needed title.
“Yes, it can be a turning point, especially when getting through the tie,” Koeman said. This helps to have a good atmosphere, strength ”.
Robert Kennedy opened the scoring for the locals with a short shot in the 33rd minute.
Roberto Soldado, a former Real Madrid forward, extended the advantage by one against at 47.
The Venezuelan Darwin Machis entered the second half and Yangel Herrera is isolated by covid-19.
Levante also won in overtime
Roger Martí scored in the 120th minute for Levante to beat Villarreal 1-0 in overtime, reaching the semifinals for the first time in 86 years.
The Granota club did not reach those instances since 1935, when it was eliminated by Sabadell, which currently plays in the second category.
Villarreal, who dominated much of the duel, was also trying to anchor in the semis for only the second time in history.
Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid lost in previous rounds of this edition.
On Tuesday, Sevilla became the first semifinalist, with a victory in their visit against Almería of the second division. This Thursday, Real Betis and Athletic define the last guest.
❝We have suffered a lot … Until it appeared @ DeJongFrenkie21 to ‘lo Pippo Inzaghi’.
‒ @AntoGriezmann. pic.twitter.com/0kz2lXkw1M– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) February 3, 2021
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