3 Reasons why Barcelona beat Real Madrid | Copa Del Rey 2018/19
It's official, Barcelona are still on course for the third treble in their history, as the club breezed past their eternal rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu to progress to the final of the Copa Del Rey, where they are set to meet either Valencia or Betis in a tie slated for 25 May at Betis' stadium.
Barcelona would be confident of retaining the trophy they have won on each of the last four occasions, with their emphatic 3-0 thumping of Real in their own backyard enough to give them extra motivation.
In scenes reminiscent of the match which cost Julen Lopetegui his job, Barcelona ran riot at the Bernabeu, ending all hopes Real had of lifting their first ever treble and with a second El Clasico set to take place over the coming weekend, Los Blancos would be wary of seeing a repeat performance.
The defeat would put further pressure on Santiago Solari, as his side have not been in the best of forms of late, with the manner of the loss and the rivals involved sure to raise further scrutiny. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at three reasons why Barcelona embarrassing win over their arch-rivals.
#3 Suarez the menace
In the aforementioned 5-1 defeat of Real Madrid by Barcelona which cost Julen Lopetegui his job, Luis Suarez was the architect of that victory, rising to the occasion in the absence of talisman Lionel Messi and putting Real Madrid to the sword with a well-taken hat-trick.
The Uruguayan has faced criticisms in recent times which is justified, considering that he has been beneath his usual high standards and his laborious displays in the first half were in line with his performances in recent weeks.
However, the half-time break seemed to rejuvenate the 32-year-old, as he was on hand to turn Ousmane Dembele's well-timed pass in the 50th minute into the back of the net to open the scoring on the night and grant Barcelona their much-needed away goal.
That seemed to spark Suarez into life, as he continuously proved to be a thorn in the flesh of the Madrid backline, constantly hassling the Real Madrid defence, which ultimately led to Raphael Varane turning into the back of his net in the 69th minute to double Barca's lead.
Just four minutes later, Casemiro bundled the former Liverpool poacher in the box, with referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez having no option but to point to the spot.
Suarez dusted himself off from the floor to score his second and Barcelona's third on the night. His decision to take the penalty with the cheeky 'Panenka' chip was the most humiliating end to the night possible.
Suarez's brace took him to 11 goals from 13 appearances against Real Madrid (which makes them his favourite opponents). Not even Messi has scored that much since the Uruguayan arrived in 2014 and you can be sure that Real Madrid fans are tired of the sight of Suarez.
Also see : women's world cup, womens world cup bracket, Womens World Cup Standings