BARCELONA, SPAIN – Cristiano Ronaldo got the better of Lionel Messi on Tuesday, scoring twice to lead Real Madrid to a 3-1 win at Barcelona and a spot in the Copa del Rey final.
After salvaging a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Madrid neutralized Barcelona’s passing game and counterattacked to perfection at the Nou Camp to hand its archrival its first home loss in any competition since last April.
“We played a great game,” Ronaldo said. “We faced the game with a serious attitude, played better and scored three goals, which is tough to do.”
It was also a second straight cup setback for the Catalan club, which is running away with the Spanish League but lost 2-0 at AC Milan in the first leg of its Champions League last-16 matchup.
While Messi had a quiet night, Ronaldo scored for a sixth straight visit to the Nou Camp when he earned and converted a penalty in the 13th minute. Ronaldo hit again on the break in the 57th before Raphael Varane got his second goal of the series in the 68th to turn a convincing win into a rout.
Defender Jordi Alba scored late for Barcelona, but it was much too late to prevent Madrid from advancing 4-2 on aggregate. Madrid will play either Atletico Madrid or Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final on May 18.
After struggling in his first encounters with Barcelona, Ronaldo has become a nemesis for the Catalan club by scoring goals that have directly contributed to them losing titles the past three seasons.
Besides ending Barcelona’s cup defense this campaign, Ronaldo scored here to dethrone Barcelona as league champions last season — after also netting the winning header against Barcelona in the 2011 cup final.
“Ronaldo is our reference. He’s vital for us,” said Madrid captain Iker Casillas, who in a rare move spoke in place of coach Jose Mourinho, even though the goalkeeper sat out because of a broken hand. “He has shown how good he is not just today but in other ‘clasico’ matches. He is on a great run right now and we have to try and get the most out of it.”
While Ronaldo put on one of his most memorable performances since joining Madrid, Messi couldn’t keep up as the opposing defense again surrounded him and his teammates never picked up the slack.
Everton beats Oldham
AP
Everton reached the quarterfinals of the F.A. Cup by beating Oldham 3-1 on Tuesday, ending the third-tier club’s memorable run with a routine victory at Goodison Park.
Oldham ousted Liverpool 3-2 in the previous round and then drew 2-2 with Everton at home 10 days ago.
But David Moyes’ team dominated from the start in the replay, and Kevin Mirallas opened the scoring when he converted Darron Gibson’s 15th-minute cross.
Former Everton player Jose Baxter almost pulled Oldham level through a sumptuous lob that struck the post.
But Leighton Baines’ penalty made it 2-0 in the 34th after Connor Brown handled, and Leon Osman added the third in the 62nd
Oldham’s Matt Smith came off the bench to claim his fourth goal of the cup run two minutes later, but couldn’t prevent Everton’s smooth passage into the next round, where it will host Wigan.
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