Barcelona: Lionel Messi had a penalty saved as triple King’s Cup holders Barcelona suffered a surprise 0-1 loss at city rivals Espanyol in a quarterfinal first leg Wednesday. The defeat ended Barca’s unbeaten run of 29 games in all competitions.
Espanyol’s academy graduate Oscar Melendo crashed in the only goal of the game in the88th minute after Messi had his spot-kick turned away by former Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez earlier in the second half.
Barca had not lost to Espanyol since 2009 and this was their first defeat by their local rivals in the Cup since 1970. The last game they had lost in any competition was in the Spanish Super Cup to Real Madrid, August 16. The second leg of the tie will take place January 25 at the Nou Camp.
Elsewhere, Sevilla battled back from a goal down to win 2-1 at Atletico Madrid as Diego Simeone’s decision to rest No.1 goalkeeper Jan Oblak in favour of Miguel Angel Moya backfired.
Moya clawed a cross into his own net in the 79th minute to cancel out Diego Costa’s arrowed strike six minutes earlier, while Joaquin Correa struck the winner in the 88th to give under-fire new Sevilla coach Vincenzo Montella a much-needed victory.
Pique stays on
Barcelona: Barcelona were given a fresh Thursday when key defender Gerard Pique signed a contract extension until 2022. Having recently lost Brazilian superstar Neymar in an aggressive contract buy out by PSG, the Catalan giants have put a 500 million euros ($611 million) buyout clause in Pique’s new contract. “The club and the player have agreed terms on a new deal through to June 30, 2022. We will announce when the official signing will take place in a couple of days,” Barcelona said on their website.
Reuters