Barcelona, Real Madrid fail to make Copa del Rey semi-final

Barcelona FC and Real Madrid, two most powerful teams in the Spanish professional football, failed to make the semi-final at the Copa del Rey.

Even with Messi, Barcelona was sent out of the Copa del Rey by losing 0-1 to Athletic Bilbao on Friday. Bilbao’s Iñaki Williams scored a winner during an extra time. Meanwhile, Real Madrid lost to Real Sociedad 3:4 on its home field on the same day. Martin Odegaard, who plays for the Sociedad on loan from Real Madrid, led the attack by scoring the first goal. With Friday’s win, Real Sociedad ended Real Madrid’s 21-game unbeaten run.

This is the first time that both Barcelona and Real Madrid did not make the semi-finals since the 2009-10 season. Back then, Real Madrid was eliminated in the round of 32 and Barcelona was knocked out of the competition in the round of 16.


Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com