Barcelona advanced to the Copa del Rey semifinals with a hard-fought win over 10-man Real Sociedad thanks to Ousmane Dembele.
Dembele’s stunning near-post shot after 52 minutes broke the deadlock at the Nou Camp.
DEMBELE WHAT A HIT! 🚀🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/ivFYy0ZsVU
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 25, 2023
Real Sociedad came into the match on the back of nine consecutive wins in all competitions and almost scored in the 29th minute when Japanese youngster Take Kubo’s strike hit the bar.
However, their hopes of inflicting a surprise defeat on Barca at the Camp Nou were hit when forward Brais Mendez was shown a straight red card in the 40th minute.
Barcelona were the better side for most of the match after that but only scored once thanks to Dembele’s man-of-the-match performance.
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo described Ousmane Dembele as a “great player” after the game.
“[Dembele] had a great game, we know what a great player he is,” Araujo told Movistar.
“He helps us with goals, he’s taking good decisions, that’s the most important thing, something that maybe was tricky for him at the beginning.”
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Meanwhile, Osasuna joined Barcelona in the semi-finals after they beat Sevilla 2-1 later on Wednesday thanks to an extra-time goal by Abde Ezzalzouli.
Chimy Avila opened the scoring for the hosts in the 71st minute but Youssef En Nesyri equalised in the 94th minute, taking the match to extra time.
Substitute Ezzalzouli scored the winner nine minutes into extra time on a counter-attack, slotting a right-foot shot inside the right post.
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