Congratulations to Atlético Madrid for winning the 2013 Copa del Rey!! They beat Real Madrid 2-1 after a chaotic game and 30 minutes of extra time. This marks the first time Atleti have beaten Real Madrid since 1999. Atlético also ended Real Madrid’s 2 year home unbeaten streak (about 40+ games). At the end of this season Atleti will have claimed 3rd place in La Liga, qualified for next year’s Champions League, and won the Copa del Rey. Congratulations!

Atlético Madrid win 2013 Copa del Rey

On the flip side, this was a terrible ending to a terrible season for Real Madrid. They’ll finish 2nd in La Liga, 10 points behind champions Barcelona. They failed to come back against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semifinals and were subsequently eliminated. I don’t even want to talk about all the drama surrounding the club this season. And they just lost what looked to be their best shot at winning some silverware this season.

For the past two hours (and most of this season, really) my reaction to Real Madrid’s game looked something like this: 

It’s hard to blame any one party for the way this season has gone and, if we’re being honest, finger-pointing usually goes badly. However, I’m going to ask you to give me a little bit of leeway because I’m hurting pretty badly after this loss.

The main target of my anger is the ref, Clos Gomez. He did make some good decisions every now and then, but he was inconsistent and clearly lost control of the game. By the final whistle, he had handed out 7 yellow cards to Real Madrid, six yellow cards to Atlético Madrid, and a red card each. I’m not even entirely sure why Gabi was sent off for Atleti. Half the time Gomez carded a player on their first offense; the other half of the time he waited until the 5th or 6th foul to show them a card.

He’s as appalled as I was.

The one sending off that really rubbed me wrong was José Mourinho. As far as I could see, it was the first time Mou had gotten up from his seat to yell at the pitch whereas Diego Simeone had spent the entire game standing! I guess Mou had to have said something terrible to warrant the sending off, but there’s no way Gomez would’ve heard it from where he was standing.

I kinda loathe myself for saying this but…Cristiano Ronaldo deserved his red card. The idiot kicked his opponent in the nose.

Above all else, pure luck was against Real Madrid. Los blancos should have easily won this game with as many shots as they had hit the post. That plus Thibaut Courtois’s phenomenal goalkeeping display stopped about 4 or 5 of Real Madrid’s closest chances. There was one period of a couple minutes where Real kept pinging the ball towards the net and it looked like a force field was over the line flinging the ball straight back. Unbelievable.

Now all we can do is wait. Wait to see if Mourinho goes or stays (my bet is he returns to England). Wait to see which players leave Real Madrid (unfortunately I think quite a few are on the way out). Wait to see if Atlético can hold onto Radamel Falcao (probably not). And wait for the start of next season which will hopefully wash away the remnants of a shoddy season for Real Madrid.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to bury myself in comfort food.

Photos courtesy of www.ligabbva.com, www.guardian.co.uk, and tumblr.com. Check in with @AerysSoccer every day for the latest news on La Liga, the EPL, and MLS.

All hail the champions!! Barcelona have now won their 4th league title in five years. It’s absolutely incredible! This season may have been a bit weird for them, what with Tito Vilanova spending most of the season in New York for cancer treatment and the team suffering countless injuries. Nevertheless, Barça started the season strong and out paced the rest of the league by miles. Real Madrid, the defending title holders, barely put up a fight. On Saturday, Madrid’s feeble 1-1 draw with Espanyol sealed the deal for Barcelona and left a 10 point gap between 1st and 2nd place.

Tito Vilanova celebrates Barcelona’s 22nd League title in the city parade

It was pretty evident in the first half of the season that they would win the league when Barça reached the point where they were 16 points ahead of 2nd place (Atlético Madrid at the time). However, the Catalans had to wait until this weekend to celebrate. They deserved to win. There is no doubt about that. But something feels off. 

Yes, they made it to the semifinals of the Champions League for a record 6th year in a row. Yes, Lionel Messi produced more magic to score against every team in consecutive games. Yes, Barcelona will equal the 100 point record mark set by Real Madrid last season.

But the champions have a lot of questions to answer in the offseason. They were absolutely steamrolled by Bayern Munich in the Champions League semis on an aggregate 7-0. Throughout the whole season their defense never seemed as solid as it should’ve been. Last season the question was “can Real Madrid feel satisfied in their League title if they never beat Barcelona?” (They eventually did.) This season Barça managed to draw 2-2 and lose 3-1 to Madrid in the Camp Nou in the League and the Copa del Rey, respectively. At the Santiago Bernabéu, Barça drew 1-1 in the Copa del Rey and lost 2-1 in the League.

Anyways, a huge congratulations to Barcelona on their 22nd League title!

In other news around the league, Real Sociedad and Valencia are tied for the last Champions League place, both with 59 points. Right now la Real just edges Valencia out of the spot on goal differential. With three games left, both teams are going to have to fight tooth and nail for that last golden spot. At the far end of the table, Mallorca, Celta Vigo, and Deportivo La Coruña are still stuck in the relegation zone (and Celta has already played an extra game). Real Zaragoza sits barely in safety just two points clear of danger. Here are the full results from the weekend:

Barça’s prize

Wednesday:
Celta Vigo 1-3 Atlético Madrid
Real Madrid 6-2 Málaga

Friday:
Levante 0-0 Real Zaragoza

Saturday:
Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Mallorca
Valladolid 1-0 Deportivo La Coruña
Osasuna 1-0 Getafe
Espanyol 1-1 Real Madrid

Sunday:
Rayo Vallecano 0-4 Valencia
Real Betis 1-0 Celta Vigo
Atlético Madrid 1-2 Barcelona
Málaga 0-0 Sevilla

Monday:
Real Sociedad 2-2 Granada

The Copa del Rey final is scheduled for this weekend at the Santiago Bernabéu between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. The Madrid teams played Málaga and Celta Vigo, respectively, on Wednesday to clear their schedules this weekend for the Madrid derby with silverware on the line. This is the only chance for either team to win a trophy this season, so the match promises to be very enticing! Be sure to catch it on Friday at 3:30 pm ET!

Photos courtesy of www.fcbarcelona.com. Check in with @AerysSoccer everyday for news on the world of soccer!

With only 7 weeks left in the season, some teams are starting to show signs of desperation. The Sevilla Derby, Espanyol vs Valencia, Deportivo La Coruña, Real Sociedad, and Mallorca all played some ridiculous games this weekend whether their seasons’ ambition lie in Europe or safety from relegation.

Goal-fest in closing 10 minutes of match end a frantic match between Espanyol and Valencia

Two games this weekend crazily ended in 3-3 draws: the Sevilla Derby (Real Betis vs Sevilla) and Espanyol vs Valencia. The Sevilla Derby, while always dramatic, couldn’t hold a candle to the second match in terms of excitement. Espanyol and Valencia was similar to the Champions League fixture between Dortmund and Málaga: the game was almost over, the scoreline 1-1, and, after the last 10 minutes, the game ended 3-3. This was one of those games where, if you blinked, you probably missed something important.

Espanyol drew first blood in injury time of the first half. Thanks to Mubarak Wakaso, the hosts went into the locker room at the break with the lead they deserved. However, right at the beginning of the second half, Sergio Canales managed to equalize for Valencia. And so the game stayed tied at 1-1 until Roberto Soldado missed what should’ve been the go ahead goal for Valencia. Instead he shot the ball straight into the goalkeepers hands! Suddenly the game became a death race and both Espanyol and Valencia fought with everything they had to come out on top.

In the 82nd minute, Verdú scored for Espanyol but within five minutes Jonas cancelled out Espanyol’s lead. As the game creeped into injury time (not sure if 3 or 4 minutes were added on), the pace continued to get more and more frantic. After an Espanyol goal was ruled offside, Soldado came back and scored in the 91st minute, atoning for his earlier miss. Valencia may have thought they’d won the game…but there was still time left! Just enough time for Espanyol to keep their new home unbeaten streak under the new coach intact. Then in the 94th minute Sergio García pulled some magic out of the air and scored at a ridiculous angle with what was the last kick of the game. Talk about chaos! This result keeps Valencia in 6th place but vaults Espanyol into mid-table over Levante.

Speaking of Levante: they lost 4-0 at home to Deportivo La Coruña. Depor. Wow. Just wow. Their new coach has just about pulled off a miracle. This is now their 4th game in a row unbeaten and the 4th game in a row in which they’ve scored at least 3 goals. Impressive! Of course Depor clearing the relegation zone means Granada and Real Zaragoza are now in hot water, but it’s incredible inspiring to see what they’ve managed to accomplish over the last few weeks.

Real Sociedad are determined to reach the Champions League next season and winning 2-0 away to Rayo Vallecano is just the way to go. Reports say that around 4000 supporters traveled to Madrid to cheer on la Real. So far they look unstoppable! Also in Madrid, Atlético Madrid stomped Granada 5-0, and guess who’s starting to glitter again? Falcao scored 2 goals over the weekend. This is the first time since December (when he scored 5 goal in one game) that he’s scored multiple goals in a game. Here are the full results from the weekend:

Banner to Málaga from their supporters: “Everything you do in life has its echo in eternity. Thanks Málaga!”

Friday:
Real Betis 3-3 Sevilla

Saturday:
Valladolid 2-1 Getafe
Levante 0-4 Deportivo La Coruña
Espanyol 3-3 Valencia
Málaga 1-0 Osasuna

Sunday:
Rayo Vallecano 0-2 Real Sociedad
Atlético Madrid 5-0 Granada
Real Zaragoza 0-3 Barcelona
Athletic Bilbao 0-3 Real Madrid

Monday:
Mallorca 1-0 Celta Vigo

Photos courtesy of ligabbva.com. Keep up with @AerysSoccer for latest updates on la Liga, the EPL, MLS, and more!

Real Sociedad solidify their Champions League spot with a comprehensive win over Málaga

Round 30 of La Liga this weekend was a whirlwind of activity after last week’s snooze-fest. Deportivo La Coruña have just about climbed out of the relegation hole that Zaragoza is now in danger of falling into. Real Sociedad put Málaga to shame with an incredible scoreline. Barcelona and Real Madrid romped past their opponents, both netting 5 goals against Mallorca and Levante, respectively. And I’m still trying to figure out what Granada were doing in the first half of their game as Real Betis ran wild.

I regret not watching the clash between Real Sociedad and Málaga. I figured it be a relatively quiet game as Málaga prepared for their trip to Germany in the midweek. Was I wrong or what?! Well, not entirely. Málaga may have played on Saturday with their minds on Tuesday, because they seemed incapable of stopping a rampant la Real from scoring 3 times in 9 minutes in the first half.

After that rude awakening, Málaga managed to pull one back before the break. However Sociedad were loathe to see their lead slip even the slightest and they effectively finished the game in the 51st minute. This is about the time I checked into the game and was rather bewildered by the 4-1 scoreline to the home side. Santa Cruz softened the blow for Málaga in the 70th minute. Sociedad earned their result and they’re starting to look even more certain of returning to the Champions League next year for the first time in 10 years.

Depor edge out Zaragoza to draw closer to safety

In the relegation zone, Deportivo La Coruña have now won 3 matches in a row. To put the significance into context, they won a total of 3 matches in the first half of the season. Last week, they narrowly beat Mallorca 3-2. This week same result: Depor edged out Real Zaragoza in a 3-2 thriller at home in Riazor. The crazy game went back and forth as Depor conceded a penalty early in the first half only to be rewarded by a Zaragoza own goal in the second half. This win brings Depor 1 point from being clear of the relegation zone. The club they’d send into trouble if they managed to clear danger: Real Zaragoza. Poor Zaragoza have yet to win a game in 2013. With 8 weeks left in the season, the battle to clear the relegation zone is going to get nasty.

Friday night, Real Betis visited Granada and thrashed them 5-1. Now Betis are level with Málaga on points thanks to the flurry of goals in the first half that Granada seemed to missing out on. Falcao also seems to have gone missing. Atlético drew 0-0 with Getafe and it’s been a while since the Colombian put on a performance quite like the ones from the first half of the season. Before I close out, make sure you watch the absolutely astounding golazo by Gonzalo Higuaín to open the scoring for Real Madrid against Levante. Here are the full results from the weekend.

Higuaín’s scissor was too pretty to not share

Friday:
Granada 1-5 Real Betis

Saturday:
Real Sociedad 4-2 Málaga
Real Madrid 5-1 Levante
Barcelona 5-0 Mallorca
Deportivo La Coruña 3-2 Real Zaragoza

Sunday:
Celta Vigo 0-2 Rayo Vallecano
Osasuna 0-2 Espanyol
Getafe 0-0 Atlético Madrid
Valencia 2-1 Valladolid

Monday:
Sevilla 2-1 Athletic Bilbao

The second leg of the Champions League is this week! Real Madrid shouldn’t have that much work to do in Turkey whereas Málaga will have to fight tooth and nail to get a positive results in Germany. Barcelona welcome PSG to the Camp Nou for what promises to be an fascinating game.

Photos courtesy of LigaBBVA.com, realsociedad.com, and realmadrid.com. Check back with @AerysSoccer on Thursday for a round up the Champions League quarterfinals.

This was probably one of the most boring weekends in La Liga I’ve ever attempted to watch. Not much happened worth talking about but that’s hardly the league’s fault for a series of reason:

1. It was Easter weekend. Just an awkward time to have 4 matches scheduled for a Sunday usually reserved for church and family.
2. A round of World Cup 2014 qualifications happened last week. One of the highlight? The clash between France and Spain.
3. This week is Champions League!!! Enough said.

I mean, really, how can the usual round of league matches possibly live up to those standards of excitement when everyone’s minds were on last week and this week!

Rodri’s goal celebration against Real Madrid was the most exciting part of the weekend

The top 4 teams all drew in their respective matches. So no movement up top. The bottom 4 teams didn’t move positions either. Both Celta Vigo and Real Zaragoza drew in their matches. The bottom two, Mallorca and Deportivo La Coruña, played each other, but Depor’s win keeps them at the very bottom but only a point from Mallorca. There was a little shuffling in mid table but nothing drastic enough to be like WOW!

In all honestly, it was actually kind of nice to have the dull weekend to recuperate from the FIFA excitement and to prepare for some epic battles in the Champions League. Here are the results from the weekend:

Saturday:
Rayo Vallecano 1-3 Málaga
Celta Vigo 2-2 Barcelona
Real Zaragoza 1-1 Real Madrid
Levante 1-0 Sevilla

Sunday:
Valladolid 1-3 Osasuna
Mallorca 2-3 Deportivo La Coruña
Espanyol 2-2 Real Sociedad
Atlético Madrid 1-1 Valencia

Monday:
Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Granada
Real Betis 0-0 Getafe

On Tuesday, Barcelona travels to Paris to take on the French giants PSG. I’m expecting this round to be fairly routine for Barça to get through, but it’s always fun to have an upset. Both Real Madrid and Málaga play on Wednesday. Real Madrid welcomes Galatasaray to the Bernabeú in hopes of getting everything done right from the start. Málaga has the monumental challenge of trying to overturn Borussia Dortmund. I’m super excited to see how this one turns out. It’ll be extremely difficult, but I think Málaga just might be able to pull it off!

Photo courtesy of LigaBBVA.com. Tune in to @AerysSoccer for all your updates on the world of soccer!

This was probably one of the most boring weekends in La Liga I’ve ever attempted to watch. Not much happened worth talking about but that’s hardly the league’s fault for a series of reason:

1. It was Easter weekend. Just an awkward time to have 4 matches scheduled for a Sunday usually reserved for church and family.
2. A round of World Cup 2014 qualifications happened last week. One of the highlight? The clash between France and Spain.
3. This week is Champions League!!! Enough said.

I mean, really, how can the usual round of league matches possibly live up to those standards of excitement when everyone’s minds were on last week and this week!

Rodri’s goal celebration against Real Madrid was the most exciting part of the weekend

The top 4 teams all drew in their respective matches. So no movement up top. The bottom 4 teams didn’t move positions either. Both Celta Vigo and Real Zaragoza drew in their matches. The bottom two, Mallorca and Deportivo La Coruña, played each other, but Depor’s win keeps them at the very bottom but only a point from Mallorca. There was a little shuffling in mid table but nothing drastic enough to be like WOW!

In all honestly, it was actually kind of nice to have the dull weekend to recuperate from the FIFA excitement and to prepare for some epic battles in the Champions League. Here are the results from the weekend:

Saturday:
Rayo Vallecano 1-3 Málaga
Celta Vigo 2-2 Barcelona
Real Zaragoza 1-1 Real Madrid
Levante 1-0 Sevilla

Sunday:
Valladolid 1-3 Osasuna
Mallorca 2-3 Deportivo La Coruña
Espanyol 2-2 Real Sociedad
Atlético Madrid 1-1 Valencia

Monday:
Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Granada
Real Betis 0-0 Getafe

On Tuesday, Barcelona travels to Paris to take on the French giants PSG. I’m expecting this round to be fairly routine for Barça to get through, but it’s always fun to have an upset. Both Real Madrid and Málaga play on Wednesday. Real Madrid welcomes Galatasaray to the Bernabeú in hopes of getting everything done right from the start. Málaga has the monumental challenge of trying to overturn Borussia Dortmund. I’m super excited to see how this one turns out. It’ll be extremely difficult, but I think Málaga just might be able to pull it off!

Photo courtesy of LigaBBVA.com. Tune in to @AerysSoccer for all your updates on the world of soccer!

It’s Fernando Torres’ 29th birthday today and while he isn’t in the Dirty 30 Club, it doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate. So break out the sangria, tapas, and all your favorite foods from the Basque Country because we’re about to jump into all things Fernando.

Here is Fernando training with Chelsea FC…well, he’s not really training and mostly posing. We forgive him since you know it does take a lot for a genius to plan how he is going to attack the pitch.

Fernando is on his knees and likely someone is getting a red card for fouling him – because Fernando is never in the wrong…never!

He’s thinking deep thoughts about his bff, Sergio Ramos here…don’t worry, I do the same thing.

Presented without comment and mostly because I am not entirely prepared for the next photo in this set…

Here is Fernando in his Spain kit and more than likely fouled by someone – you know this is becoming a theme but I’m totally focused on this bit of ab showing at the waist. Seriously someone give me a one way ticket to Spain.

This is by far the best and frankly what we here are all about. In fact, if he chose to walk around like this all the time (even in the snow), I would not complain at all. Take all the time you need scoring goals, really. I have all the time in the world.

Don’t you wish Sergio Ramos was your BFF? Well, too bad, because this is his one and only bestie, Fernando Torres. I know that I’m sad but I won’t be the Yoko here.

And finally…here is Sergio in a twitter photo today as he put it, “I want to congratulate a great friend who is not here, missing him lots… Happy birthday!!”

If you feel like wishing Fernando Torres a very happy birthday, you still have time to tweet him @Torres (he hasn’t updated since October 2011 but it is the thought that counts!)

Follow the ladies of Aerys Soccer on Twitter at @AerysSoccer and check out our brand spankin’ new Facebook page! 

Valencia’s win vaults them over Betis but still not into Champions League place

I concluded last week’s post by pointing out the fun clash between Valencia and Real Betis for the last Europa League spot. I didn’t expect much else to change in the table. Oh boy was I wrong or what?!

Four teams moved around near the top of the table with some pretty exciting results. Valencia beat Real Betis 3-0 effectively jumping over them in the table and securing a European spot. I expected the game to be close, but a red card to Real Betis in the 15th minute tilted the tie in favor of Valencia who made no mistake in capitalizing on Antonio Amaya’s mistake.

Betis managed to hold on for most of the game, coming incredibly close to an equalizer just before the half. It seemed that these two would be locked in their position until Paulão gave Valencia the leg up with a horrendous own goal. The final blow came from Jonas in injury time. After over 90 minutes of missed opportunities, Valencia’s final goal gave them a bit of pride in their win.

Now, that was the expected excitement. On Saturday, Real Sociedad thrashed Valladolid 4-1 in the Anoeta. Three goals at the end of the first half and their winner right at the start of the second half propelled la Real up the table. Antoine Griezmann (who, I recently reazlied, is only 21) scored a brace for Sociedad. Valladolid fought hard to stay even with their opponents but they just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net until the 87th minute when just about all hope had faded.

Málaga fall from 4th to 6th after home loss to Espanyol

Real Sociedad’s win in conjunction with a rather shocking result from the weekend really shook things up. Málaga lost at home to Espanyol. With a 2-0 scoreline. After beating Porto and progressing to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, Málaga produced one of their flattest, most uninspired performances despite dominating possession in la Rosaleda. Espanyol broke their recent string of losses with this win.

After the dust settles, here’s what we’re left with: Málaga have slipped out of 4th (and a Champions League place) all the way down to 6th just above Real Betis who no longer occupy a European spot due to their defeat at the hands of Valencia who now sit in 5th and two points behind Real Sociedad who are quite happy with their newly acquired Champions League spot in 4th place. Whew. Sounds a little bit like She’s the Man (or Twelfth Night, since that did come first).

Other happenings from around the league include Deportivo soundly beating Celta Vigo, who sit just above Depor at the very bottom of the table. Depor’s win brings them a tad closer to Celta, but, with only 20 points so far this season, it’s still not looking too good for Depor. Messi has now scored in 18 consecutive league games. WOW! Also, Luka Modric scored an absolute screamer against Mallorca. While it looked very similar to his goal against Manchester United a couple weeks ago, this one was so superb it cause Higuaín to fall to his knees in praise. Here are the full results from the weekend:

Agirretxe and co. can’t even believe they’re now in a Champions League spot

Friday:
Deportivo La Coruña 3-1 Celta Vigo

Saturday:
Real Sociedad 4-1 Valladolid
Getafe 1-0 Athletic Bilbao
Real Madrid 5-2 Mallorca
Valencia 3-0 Real Betis

Sunday:
Málaga 0-2 Espanyol
Sevilla 4-0 Real Zaragoza
Osasuna 0-2 Atlético Madrid
Barcelona 3-1 Rayo Vallecano
Granada 1-1 Levante

Photos courtesy of valenciacf.com, realsociedad.com, and LigaBBVA.com. Keep tabs on @AerysSoccer for frequent updates on MLS, EPL, La Liga, and the US national teams!

Waaay too much happened this weekend in La Liga for me to possibly given too much detail. So fasten your seat belts, because you’re in for one helluva ride!

Two Clásico wins in a row for Real Madrid

Starting off in chronological order, el Clásico stole the headlines again as Real Madrid beat Barcelona for the second time in five days. As usual, the match ended in huge controversy as Barça had a relatively clear penalty kick denied by the ref. While players swarmed the ref in anger, little significance could really be placed on the final minutes of the match as Barcelona only managed two shots on goal. Two. One of the most prolific scoring teams in the world only managed two shots on goal.

For Real Madrid, their second win against their rivals provided an extra mental/emotional boost as the team heads to England for the knockout game against Manchester United in the Champions League. With most of their starters rested, los blancos look primed and ready for the heavyweight match that the world will be watching.

Saturday ended with an exciting draw between Valencia and Levante. Valencia, now only one point off a Champions League spot, held the lead until the last minute when Barkero capitalized on a chance for Levante in the dying moments of the game. Several minutes of injury time were added on to the first half due to the ref needing several moments to recover after suffering an accidental challenge from Perreira. It was in these added minutes that Soldado produce an incredible physical feat for his goal:

But really…is a body supposed to move like that?!

Sunday’s matches saw Mallorca wins for the first time in ages. The most surprising part was the man in charge: Gregorio Manzano, the manager they fired last season! What?! Well congratulation to Mallorca who desperately needed this win to start their climb out of the relegation zone.

Crazy wild draw between teams fighting for European spot

Another thrilling draw ended in a 3-3 tie between 6th placed Real Sociedad and 7th placed Real Betis. These two teams attempted to duke it out for that last European spot, but la Real just managed to hold on. Betis were leading their rivals 2-0 after five minutes into the second half, but within 10 minutes Sociedad scored 3 goals in quick succession to grab the lead. However they couldn’t hold on to the advantage as one of Betis’s substitutes proved to be a difference maker. This match saw 5 goals in 20 minutes! Talk about a wild, wild match. Too bad they both couldn’t have walked away with 3 points.

Not everything was so entertaining in Spain this weekend. A series of incredibly boring draws balanced out all the excitement nicely. It was a bit puzzling to see a potentially electric clash between Málaga and Atlético Madrid fizzle out into a 0-0 draw. Sevilla made up for it a bit as they crushed Celta Vigo 4-1 on Monday night.

In case you lost track of all the goals, here are the full results from the weekend:

Friday:
Getafe 2-0 Real Zaragoza

Saturday:
Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona
Deportivo La Coruña 0-0 Rayo Vallecano
Osasuna 0-1 Athletic Bilbao
Valencia 2-2 Levante

Sunday:
Granada 1-2 Mallorca
Espanyol 0-0 Valladolid
Málaga 0-0 Atlético Madrid
Real Sociedad 3-3 Real Betis

Monday:
Sevilla 4-1 Celta Vigo

Photos courtesy of LigaBBVA.com. Follow @AerysSoccer for updates on La Liga, MLS, EPL and the wonderful world of soccer!

Two epic showdowns, two remaining teams. After the two brilliant midweek matches, the final for the Copa del Rey is set: Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid. Now…where to begin?

Celebrations all around as los blancos win in the Camp Nou

Let’s start with el Clásico. If you’re a culé (Barça fan), then this game was pretty darn painful to watch. If you’re a madridista (like me), this game left you charged and ready to take on the world! The first leg of the semifinals ended in a 1-1 draw with goals from Cesc Fabregas and Rafael Varane. The last Clásico in the Camp Nou resulted in a 2-2 draw. Given the fact that their last two meetings ended in draws, it required a pretty special performance to win and progress to the final.

In the 13th minute, Real Madrid broke on yet another one of their lethal counterattacks only for Ronaldo to be tackled in the box by Pique. If the defender hadn’t taken down CR7, chances are the Portuguese striker would’ve still scored. Nevertheless, the ref awarded los blancos the penalty, Ronaldo sent Pinto flying the wrong direction, and Madrid were 1-0 up. Barça controlled play for a majority of the game, but had nothing to show for it. The best instance to describe how the game went for them was when the ref managed to get in the way and body block Messi from his run in the box. (For a more technical look at the game tactics, I highly suggest you check out Zonal Marking’s break down here.)

Real Madrid continued to compound their superiority as Khedira pinged a pass across the length of the field to Di Maria whose attempt on goal gifted Ronaldo the chance for his second goal. Then the newfound nightmare for Barça appeared for a soaring header to bring the score to 3-0. I’m referring to 19-year old Varane. The best part of the night happened a few minutes after his goal as he touched the part of his head the ball hit and slowly let a wide grin cover his face. Precious. Barça now have some serious questions to answer about their current run of form. After losing huge games to AC Milan and Madrid, critics are scrutinizing the inconsistency in coaching, February exhaustion, and poor tactical choices.

Man of the Match Diego Costa carries Atleti to the final

The other semifinal clash ended in a 2-2 draw between Sevilla and Atlético Madrid. The first leg ended in a 2-1 win for the home team Atleti. Yesterday in Andalusia, the loss came down mostly to Sevilla’s mistakes. Brilliant work from Diego Costa and Falcao put Atleti 2-0 up inside 30 minutes. By halftime, Jesús Navas had given the home side a ray of hope by bringing the score to 2-1. Unfortunately for Sevilla, everything collapsed for them in the second half.

I have never ever seen a ref take back a card once given, so if the ref shows you a yellow, it’s usually the smarter choice to say thank you and walk away while thinking mean thoughts in your head where no one else can hear you. Voicing your displeasure leads to situations like the one Medel found himself in as he collected his second yellow and consequent red card for arguing the first yellow. Then quite unbelievably Sevilla scored again in the first minute of injury time bringing the aggregate score to 4-3 in favor of Atleti. Not bad for a team playing a man down. If Sevilla could somehow manage to get the luckiest goal ever, the game would proceed to extra time. But no. Kondogbia decided to be a genius and stomped on Diego Costa and was rightly shown a straight red and effectively ending the match.

So congratulations to Atlético to holding on to their lead over the two legs and proceeding to the final. Congratulations to Real Madrid for their magnificent performance in Barcelona.

Now all we have to do it wait to find out where the final will actually be held.

Photos courtesy of realmadrid.com and LigaBBVA.com. Keep checkin’ in on @AerysSoccer for frequent updates on the always exciting, ever changing world of soccer.