COPA DEL RAY QUARTER FINAL DRAWS REVIEW

After an exciting round of 16 tie, the draws was held on the 12th of January 2018 by 12:30PM CET, here is the full draws and a quick review:

LEGANES VS REAL MADRID

Real Madrid is firm favorite to qualify besides their abysmal poor run of form so far this season. Leganes on the other hand are no push overs as they knocked out Villarreal in the last round on away goal, they will pose a serious threat for the Madrid giants.  Real sits 4th on the Liga table while Leganes sits on 9th position. It promises to be a great game.

ESPANYOL VS BARCELONA

The Catalan derby promises to bring a lot of excitement and great physical battle in both legs. Barcelona are on a 28 games unbeaten run all season, it will be a tough task for Espanyol to beat Barcelona but nothing is impossible in football especially in a derby game. Barcelona sits at the top of the Liga table while Espanyol languishes on 14th position, a hard task for Espanyol but not impossible.

ATLETICO MADRID VS SEVILLA

Atletico have found their goal scoring form as the squad was bolstered with the return of Vitolo and Diego Costa (who were signed in the summer but could not play until January because of the transfer ban). Sevilla also has a great attacking side but their defense has let them down on multiple occasions this season against the bigger boys. An explosive game no doubt and a difficult one to call because both sides are unpredictable but Atletico will do just enough to win over two legs.

ALAVES VS VALENCIA

Valencia has been revived this season after a poor campaign throughout last season, this season they have found their winning ways and playing beautiful football, they are firm favorite to qualify. Alaves on the other hand are a shadow of themselves last season as they presently languish in the relegation zone of the Liga this season but Alaves are not to be underrated as they reach the finals for Copa Del Ray last season against all odds.

 LaLiga Cafe predicts Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Valencia as semi- final favorite.

MEESI-ALBA LINK UP TO SINK TIRED CELTA

Barcelona first 35 minutes of the game were pure brilliance seeing them score four (4) goals, then a late goal by Ivan Rakitic securing their quarter final slot after a nervy 1-1 draw in the first leg. Barcelona won the second leg at home with an empathic 5-0 victory (6-1 on aggregate) with goals from Messi(2x), Alba, Suarez and Rakitic.

                Barcelona started the game with high intensity, quick passing and pressing. Leo Messi was having one of those nights where he is simply unstoppable, He missed a couple of changes in the opening ten (10) minutes , he then linked up twice with Jordi Alba to score (Messi) both goals in just two (2) minutes (13’ , 15’). Jordi Alba has now assisted seven (7) of Messi’s goals this season, thus making them the best assist-goal combination in Europe this season.

                Thirteen (13) minutes later, Messi played a sublime pass from the midfield to Jordi Alba, he puts the ball past Alvarez the Celt goalie making it 3 nil. Jordi Alba has scored 2 goals so far this season both assisted by Messi. In the 31st minute, Sisto made a desperate back pass to his goalie which was swiftly intercepted by Luis Suarez who made it 4 nil and made the tie out of the reach of Celta.

                In the second half Ernesto Valverde took off Pique, Messi and Iniesta for Vermaelen, Dembele Arnaiz, resting them for their game against Sociedad at the Anoeta this weekend. Dembele was full of confidence when he came on, making four (4) successful dribbles and setting up Ivan Rakitic for the 5th goal of the evening during the 87th minute from a corner kick.

                Barcelona moves on to the quarter final where they have been drawn to play their Catalan rival Espanyol in a two leg crunching derby.

                With the signing of the Columbian international Yerry Mina by the Catalan side, the Celta game looks to be the last game of Javier Mascherano for Barcelona as he looks to complete his move to China during this winter transfer window.

Yerry Mina Joins Barcelona As Their Second Signing For Winter

Yerry Mina joins Barcelona for €11.8 million. (Picture Courtesy: fcbarcelona.com)

Barcelona have completed their second major signing of the winter with the Colombian defender Yerry Mina moving from Palmeiras to join the Catalan club for 11.8 €million.

The club announced that Mina will sign a five-and-a-half year contract which has a €100m release clause.
 

The move might have been triggered by wantaway veteran Argentinean defender Javier Mascherano looking to complete his move to Chinese Super League outfit Hebei Fortune, but the two clubs have not been able to agree on a transfer fees as the Chinese side is not willing to pay more than €5.77 million.
 

The Chinese Football Association announced this past June that any club playing in China's top two football divisions, paying more than €5.77 million (45 million Yuan) for a foreign player will have to pay the same amount to CFA youth development squad as well.

Mascherano is looking for first team football to stake his claim for 2018 World Cup. (Picture Courtesy: express.co.uk)

Mina is a Colombian international who has represented his nation nine times while scoring thrice. Barcelona released the following statement on their site: "Born on 23 September 1994 (Guachené, Caucas, Colòmbia), Yerry Mina arrives at FC Barcelona to reinforce the central defensive positions. He will bring a physical presence as his 1.95 metre frame suggests but he is also a quick, ball-playing defender. The Colombian, who is joining from Palmeiras, uses his aerial prowess to impose himself and score goals."
 

Ernesto Valverde have had to do some reshuffling as few players including Andre Gomes, Rafinha, Arda Turan, Gerard Deulofeu are looking to move to different clubs for first team place as the 2018 World Cup is just around the corner.