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Espanyol 1 Barcelona 0: Melendo Ends Unbeaten Run by Marcoassensio: 11:45pm On Jan 17, 2018 |
Young substitute Oscar Melendo beat Jasper Cillessen with two
minutes to go as Espanyol inflicted Barcelona's first defeat since
August.
Oscar Melendo's late goal saw Espanyol snatch a 1-0 win and
inflict a first defeat on Barcelona since August, after Lionel Messi
failed to score a penalty in the first leg of the Copa del Rey
quarter-finals.
A dominant Barca looked as though they would have to settle for
a goalless draw after Messi saw his second-half spot kick saved
by Diego Lopez on Wednesday, but worse was to come for the
Liga frontrunners.
Espanyol caught them on the break late on and youngster Melendo
provided a neat finish for his first senior goal, inflicting a first
defeat on Barca since their Supercopa de Espana losses to Real
Madrid.
Barca were on top from start to finish and created more than
enough chances to take a victory back to Camp Nou.
But for all their control, the first half proved particularly frustrating,
as clear-cut chances were hard to come by and, when the visitors
did manage to craft an opening, the opportunity was wasted or
saved.
They should have taken the lead just after the hour mark when
Messi stepped up from 12 yards out, but Lopez rescued Espanyol
with a brilliant save and Melendo – introduced from the bench –
struck two minutes from time to secure an unlikely victory for the
home side.
Final whistle.
RCD Espanyol 1-0 FC Barcelona
Melendo
#CopaBarça pic.twitter.com/jRXjGddEeA — FC Barcelona
(@FCBarcelona) January 17, 2018
Barcelona did not have much trouble taking control of proceedings
early on, as they enjoyed a monopoly on possession.
Chances were by no means a regular occurrence, however, with
an eighth-minute Sergio Busquets effort that Lopez did well to
parry away being the only opportunity at either end in the first
quarter of the match.
Messi eventually burst into life in the 23rd minute and managed to
charge through a crowd of players to get a shot away, only for
Lopez to make light work of the effort.
At the other end, Barca looked almost too comfortable and such a
relaxed approach nearly cost them, as Sergi Roberto gifted
possession to Gerard Moreno and the forward fired just wide of the
bottom-right corner.
The best chance of the half fell to Denis Suarez just before the
break, though, as the midfielder received Messi's pass in the area
and shot into the side-netting.
Barca's dominance continued into the second half and a moment
of Messi magic forced Lopez into action, as the Argentinian flicked
the ball over his head and drilled a volley towards the bottom-
right corner from 18 yards, with the goalkeeper getting down to
keep it out.
Valverde's frustration brought about the introduction of Ivan
Rakitic and Luis Suarez from the bench and soon after the
Uruguayan's entrance, Barca won a penalty.
Roberto found his way into the Espanyol area and went down
under a clumsy Esteban Granero challenge, but Lopez brilliantly
denied Messi's kick, getting down to his left and tipping it wide.
3 - Lionel Messi has missed more penalties than any other La
Liga player this season in all competitions (three from six
attempts). Strange. pic.twitter.com/rVgz6du5nY
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 17, 2018
In an incident that will likely result in a sanction for Espanyol,
Barca goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen appeared to get caught in the
face by something thrown from the stands 13 minutes from the
end.
Thankfully he was fine to continue and he made a strong save to
push Marco Navarro's fierce free-kick effort over.
But he was helpless a few moments from the end when Melendo
latched on to Navarro's well-placed cut-back and steered a
cushioned left-footed finish into the bottom-left corner, ending
Barca's 29-match unbeaten run.
|
Re: Espanyol 1 Barcelona 0: Melendo Ends Unbeaten Run by Nehyooh(m): 11:44am On Jan 18, 2018 |
Barca will beat them come 2nd leg, and qualify |
(1) (Reply)
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