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Madrid does not forgive when it plays a final or faces an extreme situation like the one last night at the Camp Nou.
He played with the poise, security and also the efficiency of the champion teams to reach the Cup final that he will play on May 6 against Osasuna in Seville.
Barça fought hard while they felt close to victory with the roar of the Camp Nou.
He had no response on the other hand from 0-1.
He tried to equalize the game with effort after the 0-3 draw to end badly, broken down on the pitch and the stands emptied, the fans embarrassed by a win that hadn't happened since 1963. The Catalans lacked play, footballers and success, too many concessions before a talented and forceful Madrid, much better than the one in the League.
Tuesday's was not just another match but the Cup semifinal,
BCNBarcelona
0
Ter Stegen, Ronald Araújo, Alex Balde, Marcos Alonso (Eric Garcia, min. 65), Koundé, Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Kessié Franck (Ansu Fati, min. 59), Lewandowski, Gavi and Raphinha (Ferrán Torres, min. 66 )
RMA Real Madrid
4
Courtois, Eder Militao, Alaba, Camavinga, Dani Carvajal, Modric (Aurelien Tchouameni, min. 86), Federico Valverde, Kroos, Benzema (Nacho, min. 88), Vinicius Junior (Dani Ceballos, min. 85) and Rodrygo (Marco Asensio, minute 73)
Goals
0-1 min.
45: Vinicius Junior.
0-2 min.
49: Benzema.
0-3 min.
58: Benzema.
0-4 min.
80: Benzema.
Referee
Juan Martínez Munuera
Yellow cards Sergi Roberto (min. 10), Hernández (min. 15), Vinicius Junior (min. 26), Eric Garcia (min. 67), Dani Carvajal (min. 70), Ferrán Torres (min. 75), Ronald Araújo (min. 84), Alaba (min. 85), Eder Militao (min. 87) and Ansu Fati (min. 91)
Nothing seemed to escape Ancelotti's control.
He had announced that it was his turn to win against Madrid after three consecutive defeats and predicted a final against Osasuna nine years after playing the last one against Barça at Mestalla.
There was no more unknown in the stadium than knowing by how many goals Madrid would win in the fifth and last classic of the 2022-2023 series.
Although the score was in Barça's favor due to the 0-1 first leg, the game looked better for Madrid.
Ancelotti had many more players, the entire squad with the exception of Mendy, and he could change his plan on the fly whenever he wanted, either out of necessity or of his own free will, depending on the 0-1 score.
The lineup was simply a starting point, no matter how rare the presence of Camavinga seemed as a left back and consequently the commitment to Rodrygo.
So Madrid attacked as soon as they took off from the center, stretched out on both sides with their Brazilians Rodrygo and Vinicius, as intimidating with the ball as they were absent defensively, luckily for Araujo and Balde.
Xavi's resources, unlike Ancelotti, were as limited as they were worrying due to the absence of decisive footballers in the team's lifeline such as Christensen, Pedri, De Jong and Dembélé.
No one was wrong with the formation arranged by the Barcelona coach.
More surprising was instead the ease with which he reached Courtois's frame.
The pressure from their forwards on the departure of the white defenders was as solvent as Ter Stegen's footwork.
The goalkeeper easily connected with Raphinha, Kessié and Lewandowski.
The losses were few, the orientation changes worked and Raphinha was very close to the goal in two face-to-face actions with Courtois.
Although the game was played more on the Madrid field, Rodrygo unbalanced and threatened Ter Stegen at each arrival.
The game was as entertaining as it was played on the pitch and was very encouraged by the fans who, in the 10th minute, stopped applauding Barça to invoke Messi.
The intense football of the two teams mixed with demanding and also correct duels until Vinicius came across Gavi.
The Brazilian absorbed the game and the anger at the Camp Nou.
The Barça flag was taken by Kessié.
The control was alternating and the chances were few due to the lack of depth despite the speed of Balde and the affronts of Vinicius.
Concentration and defensive aid prevailed over the attacks led by the scorers Benzema and Lewandowski.
Both appeared in the penultimate play before the break, an action that announced the 1-0 and ended up being 0-1: Courtois responded with a great save to a shot from the Pole and Benzema finished the transition after a shot from Vinicius.
The striker pushed Araujo's rejection when the ball was already over Ter Stegen's goal line.
The more offensive Madrid scored in a counter-attack play, always more dangerous in the open field, when it was able to run and escape the pressure, the withdrawal and the tactical lack of Barça.
The tie was even: 1-1.
The goal encouraged Vinicius, a virtuoso in a pipe against Araujo, and calmed Madrid, who began to play and touch, just as solvent in static attack when a drive by Modric ended with an unappealable shot by Benzema: 0-2.
The contest and the tie were sentenced to the despair of the Camp Nou.
Madrid's sufficiency, expressed by a hat-trick from Benzema, contrasted with the inferiority of the Catalans, devastated, bewildered and so upset that they ended up fighting, exposed at each acceleration of Madrid.
Barça now has nothing less and nothing more left than to win a League that is considered won with 11 games to go, a long time and more with the memory of Madrid's 0-4.
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