Copa del Rey: Spotlight on the frontline as Barca eye Cup final

The Catalans have won nine consecutive games since their shock defeat to Sociedad.

MADRID:

Barcelona will be targeting a 10th consecutive victory to take a big step towards the Copa del Rey final when they host Villarreal in the first leg of their semi-final clash on Wednesday.

The Catalans have clicked into form ever since the club seemed on the brink of an institutional crisis following a dressing room bust-up after a shock 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad to start the year.

Even more judicial activity against the club and its president Josep Maria Bartomeu for tax irregularities in the signing of Neymar has not disrupted Barca’s rhythm.



The Brazilian forward has played a starring role in the run alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. All three were on target in Sunday’s 5-2 win at Athletic Bilbao as Barca closed to within a point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid, taking Luis Enrique’s men’s tally to 34 goals in their last nine games.

“We are getting better every day, but we need to continue working hard to improve,” said Neymar, who has scored 23 times in 27 appearances this season. “More than just the goals, the most important thing is to help my teammates. We can’t stop now, we need to keep going.”

Captain Xavi Hernandez returned to the side for Barca’s first league victory in the Basque country since 2010 and the veteran is determined to keep their momentum going on all fronts, with a return to Champions League action against Manchester City also to come at the end of the month.

“We can’t slip up. We already did that at Anoeta [against Sociedad] and now we feel great and depend on ourselves in the league. We need to make the most of our form,” said Xavi.

Villarreal will be rotating players: Marcelino

Villarreal have already suffered at the hands of Messi and Neymar in recent weeks, but they gave Barca a scare as the hosts had to come from behind twice to win 3-2 at the Camp Nou on February 1.

That was the Yellow Submarine’s only defeat in their last 20 games, but coach Marcelino has warned that he will make changes from his side’s 2-0 win over Granada with a top-four finish in La Liga still their priority.

“We are in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and still in the Europa League, therefore we have to rotate players,” he said. “The key to this Villarreal side is the squad, it is our biggest strength.”

In the other semi-final, Espanyol travel to face Athletic Bilbao later on Wednesday.

Both sides are in mid-table in La Liga and know their only realistic chance of European football next season comes from them winning the cup. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th,  2015.

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