Barcelona 1-0 Real Sociedad –  Copa del Rey – Quarter Final

 

Match Summary

An unconvincing Barcelona squeezed into the semi-final of the cup with a narrow win over Real Sociedad, who played more than a half with one man less after Brais Mendez was sent off on 40 minutes.

Ousama Dembele’s second-half strike handed Barcelona a 1-0 win in the Copa del Rey quarter-final, stretching their unbeaten streak to 12 games.

Real Sociedad came into the match in sensational form and almost scored in the 29th minute when Japanese youngster Take Kubo’s strike hit the bar.

The Basque hopes of inflicting a surprise defeat at the Camp Nou were hit when Mendez was shown a straight red card in the 40th minute. It came after a wild challenge on Busquets, who made the most of the foul. This was a crucial turning point in the match.

Naturally, Barcelona was the better side after that but only scored once thanks to a brilliant counter-attack by hero Dembele in the 52nd minute.

The electric winger ran through the right channel after receiving a perfectly placed long pass from Kounde, before smashing the ball into the top corner. It was a fine individual goal worthy of winning most games.

Sociedad could have equalised soon after but Alexander Sorloth missed a sitter, skying a shot from inside the six-yard box from a Kubo cross.

As the match opened up, Gavi volleyed against the crossbar after a great cross by Dembele.

Real Sociedad made a late push and could have scored on at least three occasions, with Barca keeper ter Stegen making a string of saves to secure the win.

 

Betting Analysis

Looking at the 1×2 market first. The favourite for this game was Barcelona who won @ 1.57. They didn’t manage the game well and the red card naturally made it easier for them.

Moving onto the Asian handicap market for this contest. Barcelona was giving away a full-goal start to Real Sociedad which as outlined in the preview, looked flattering. The Sociedad red card changed the dynamic of the contest but even with it, the Basques were very much in the game. Bets were void with the one-goal margin of win for the home side.

Looking at The Under/Over goals line last of all which saw a significant drop from 3.5 down to 2.5 the day before the contest. This was a market move that proved an indicator of how close and tight it was, though there were some big missed chances. Under won @ 1.90, the low-scoring match was helped by Barcelona sitting on their lead and Sociedad playing with ten men for over a half.