Neither classic nor derby. Not, at least, the big derby. The draw for the quarterfinals of the King’s Cup has provided pairings, a priori, friendly for the big three. Real Madrid will visit Leganés, Barcelona will have to play for their place in the semi-finals at Mestalla, and Atlético de Madrid will play the tie against Getafe de Bordalás in their stadium. The fourth round will measure Real Sociedad and Osasuna.
The winner of the draw fell to Leganés, who already know what it means to throw Real Madrid out of the Cup. It was in the 2017-18 seasonwhen they lost 0-1 in Butarque and then achieved the feat of beating the whites at the Bernabéu (1-2). It was the first and only time that he has reached the quarterfinals of the competition. Now, they aspire to repeat history and reach the semifinals again. It will be very complicated, but it is in their favor that they are playing in their stadium and that it is a single match.
For its part, Flick’s Barça will travel to Mestalla to play for qualification against the Valencia by Corberán. The Ché team’s battle is in the League, where this past weekend they managed to get out of last position, but they still have a lot to fight to stay in First Division. The Cup is a prize, but also an added amount of fatigue. We will see how seriously the Valencian team takes the tie.
The third favorite, Atlético, has been luckier than Madrid and Barça and will play in his field. They will do so against the always complicated Getafe de Bordalás, which like Valencia is in the battle for permanence, but is in a more comfortable situation. It won’t be easy for Simeone’s men.
The matches will be played the first week of February, on February 4, 5 and 6. Afterwards, the first leg of the semifinals is set for the last week of February and the second leg for the first week of April. The final, as always, will be played in La Cartuja, on Saturday, April 26.
#Friendly #draw #Real #Madrid #Barça #Atlético
