Barcelona won the first battle against their rivals Real Madrid on Thursday, picking up a 1-0 win at the Santiago Bernabéu in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final.
In the first of three matches between the Spanish powerhouses in the next few weeks, Barcelona triumphed after an own goal by the Real defender Éder Militão in the first half.
The two sides will also meet in La Liga on 19 March in Barcelona before the return leg of the cup semi-final on 5 April.
It was also the first match between the rivals since it became public Barcelona paid millions of euros over several years to the vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee. A banner by Madrid fans at the Bernabéu said: “Clean and white, never tarnished.”
Barcelona took the lead in the 26th minute when the ball careened off Militão after a run into the area by the midfielder Franck Kessié. The goal came after the Real midfielder Eduardo Camavinga lost possession. It was initially disallowed for an offside by Kessié but was then given after a video review.
The hosts thought they had opened the scoring through Karim Benzema in the 12th minute but he was offside. Kessié came close to adding to Barcelona’s lead in the 74th minute but his shot from the middle of the area was inadvertently deflected near the goalline by his teammate Ansu Fati.
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Osasuna defeated Athletic Bilbao 1-0 at home on Wednesday in the first leg of the other semi-final.
