MX23RW : Sunday, July 7 12:10:51| >> :60:964:964:
[monks data]
Attendance: 80,472
Real Madrid logo
Copa del Rey | Semi-Finals
Feb 27, 2019 at 8pm UK
 
Barcelona logo

0-3

FT(HT: 0-0)
Suarez (50', 73' pen.), Varane (69' og.)

Solari plays down talk of Bale rift ahead of Barcelona showdowns

Solari plays down talk of Bale rift ahead of Barcelona showdowns
© Reuters
The Copa del Rey semi-final is delicately poised at 1-1 from the first leg, and the teams also meet in the league this weekend.

Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari insists Gareth Bale and the rest of the squad are "all together" as they prepare to tackle El Clasico rivals Barcelona in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.

Wales forward Bale found himself in the spotlight after appearing to shrug off his team-mates' celebrations after scoring a late penalty in the 2-1 LaLiga win at Levante on Sunday.

Solari, though, moved to dampen any suggestions of dressing-room disharmony as Los Blancos prepared for the visit of Barcelona with the tie delicately poised at 1-1 following the first leg at the Nou Camp.

"We are all standing united in the hope of winning as a team tomorrow," the Real Madrid coach said at a press conference.

"There are many places where you can focus your attention. We are looking towards the match.

"We have already spoken about Gareth (after Levante), our focus now is on tomorrow's game and we hope to live up to the demands of the tie.

"We have gone through a lot of knockout ties to make it this far. The first game was a great one for the fans, in terms of Gareth and the others, they are focused on the game too."

Real bounced back from a shock home defeat by Girona with victory at Levante.

Captain Sergio Ramos served a one-match suspension last weekend, so should return to lead the side.

Solari wants to continue momentum into what will be the first of successive Clasico showdowns at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"We need continuity because we have been doing well. The team knows that they are doing well, they know where we need to be," Solari said at a press conference reported by the club.

"We are enjoying the competition. We put our heart and soul into this. We battle hard to win every game. We want to enjoy it."

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde during a training session
Ernesto Valverde saw his side held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Nou Camp (Adam Davy/PA)

Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde is set for his 100th game in charge on Wednesday night.

Valverde is ready to meet the challenge head on once again.

"We have to try to win the game, especially considering that if we don't score, we won't qualify," Valverde said at a press conference.

"We have the obligation to score, there will be no variation on what we usually do.

"El Clasico at the Bernabeu is always complicated, but the semi-finals are wide open, nothing has been decided.

"We know the importance of the opponent and we hope we can qualify."

Arthur, left
Brazilian midfielder Arthur, left, has been sidelined by injury (Nick Potts/PA)

Midfielder Arthur is back in training after a hamstring problem, and Valverde confirmed the Brazilian could be drafted into the squad if deemed fit.

"He is a player who is different to the others, a great player, who offers us many things," Valverde said.

"He has been in some games that the team played well and missed others that the team also played well.

"(But) we have others to replace him and we don't make excuses."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '7123f2c5-2e7e-4d64-8d82-e1a07a0b5705');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:match-reports,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Solari plays down talk of Bale rift ahead of Barcelona showdowns'});

ID:351626: cacheID:351626:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10879:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Lionel Messi in action for Barcelona on December 11, 2018
Read Next:
Barca stars recall Lionel Messi's late Bernabeu winner
>
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Tuesday, July 9
 
8pm
Semi-Finals
Spain
vs.
France
Wednesday, July 10
 
8pm
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!