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Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 to qualify for the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Barcelona managed to hold on to win 1-0 against Real Sociedad after nearly letting a dominant lead slip late in the game.
The 2021 Champions Barcelona hosted the 2020 Champions, Real Sociedad, at Camp Nou in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. The home side dominated for most of the game but nearly slipped at the end.
The home side were excellent in the first-half, and they had Real Sociedad pegged back for the most of it.
Barcelona thought they scored in the 11th minute, but it was ruled out for an obvious offside.
The Blaugrana did not manage to convert any of their 13 shots in the first-half, and it was La Reale who came closest to scoring when Takefusa Kubo's shot was deflected onto the bar on the half-hour mark.
The Catalan giants would however be handed an advantage in the first-half for all their dominance after Braiz Mendez was shown a red card in the 39th minute for a tackle on Sergio Busquets.
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Barcelona would finally break the deadlock in the 51st minute with a Dembele strike.
The goal inspired the away side, who got themselves in the game and should have scored in the 59th minute but for poor finishing from Alexander Sorloth.
They got another opportunity to draw level in the 87th minute of the game after a blunder from Marc Ter Stegen, but the goalkeeper saved the resulting chance.
The win takes Barcelona into the semi-final of the Copa del Rey, two steps closer to retaining the title they won in 2021.
Dembele's goal sends Barcelona through to the semi-final
Barcelona dominated the game's opening phase and had many solid chances. Lewandowski completed a brilliant build-up from Barcelona, but Frenkie de Jong, despite his best efforts to move his body out of the way of the shot from his offside position, was adjudged to have interfered with play, and the goal was ruled out.
The Basque side could have punished Barcelona's inefficiency when Take Kubo was found free in the box after a sweeping counter-attacking move. The Japanese struck the ball powerfully, but on form, Marc Andre Ter Stegen managed to tip it onto the crossbar.
Referee Gil Manzano was subject to boos before the start of the game by the Camp Nou faithful, and it continued through the game as fans of the home side thought decisions did not go their way.
The whistling in protest of the officiating went up several decibels when the home crowd thought Braiz Mendez should have at least been shown a yellow card for a tackle from behind on Lewandowski.
Mendez would not be lucky the second time after his studs-to-shin tackle on Sergio Busquets was flagged by VAR. Upon reviewing the incident on the monitor, referee Gil Manzano showed him a straight red card.
Barcelona started the second half in the same vein, this time against 10 men.
They finally get a well-deserved lead after Jules Kounde plays the ball into the right-hand channel for Dembele to chase.
The French winger carried the ball into the box, and when it looked like he would square it to Lewandowski, who had made his way into the box, he went for power, rifling the ball past Alex Remiro's near post.
Real Sociedad raised the level of their performance and, in what was their best period of the game, went close to scoring.
Kubo played a ground cross into Sorloth, who was in front of Barcelona's goal, and in what looked like a more difficult chance to miss than score, the Norwegian striker guided the ball over the bar.
Barcelona survived a late barrage from Real Sociedad to advance to the cup semi-finals.
A chance at second silverware for Xavi
Barcelona won their first trophy under Xavi with a victory over Real Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana.
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The win helped dispel the cloud of doubt over the manager, instilling more confidence in Xavi's project among the fans.
The Copa del Rey provides another opportunity for the young manager to gain more trust in his work, and with the team only two steps away from being crowned cup champions, Xavi will be expected to go all out.
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