BARCELONA — Ousmane Dembele scored the only goal of the game as Barcelona beat 10-man Real Sociedad 1-0 at Camp Nou on Wednesday to book their place in the semifinal of the Copa del Rey.
Dembele, who was brilliant on the night, fired home in the 52nd minute, beating goalkeeper Alex Remiro at his near post after latching on to a through ball from Jules Kounde.
Brais Mendez had earlier been sent off for a reckless challenge on Sergio Busquets, but even down a player La Real almost equalised when Alexander Sorloth missed an open goal from six yards.
Barca will regret not taking their chances to kill off the game, with Gavi hitting the woodwork, and they had goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank for late stops from Robert Navarro and Jon Ander Olasagasti.
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Rapid reaction
1. Barcelona’s Gala XI arrives, does just enough
The best periods in Barcelona’s recent history have often been accompanied by a clearly defined “Gala XI” — the term given by the local media to the first-choice team. Under Xavi, the Gala XI has not always been obvious, but it does appear to be now.
Against La Real, the Barca coach lined up with the same side which easily beat Real Madrid to win the Spanish Supercopa recently: Ter Stegen in goal, a back four of Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen and Alejandro Balde; a midfield of Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Gavi; and a front line of Dembele and Robert Lewandowski.
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The first 30 minutes here were brilliant, even if there were no goals. The football was good, there was an offside goal and missed chances from Kounde, De Jong and Dembele. On another day, Barca would have scored two against an in-form opponent who came to Camp Nou on a nine-game winning run.
Mendez’s red card only upped Barca’s domination and they eventually broke the deadlock early in the second half. What followed was not so good. Barca failed to score a second goal and in the end were hanging on, with Sorloth missing a sitter and Ter Stegen making two big late saves.
2. Dembele living up to Xavi’s praise with game-winner
Xavi has repeated throughout his time as Barca coach that, well coached and performing consistently, Dembele can be one of the best players in the world. The Frenchman is now regularly producing match winning performances.
Wednesday’s performance was not just about his goal. It was everything. It was his searing pace. It was his decision making. It was his chance creation. Real Sociedad could not stop him. He was unplayable. His goal was excellently took and he also set up openings for De Jong and Gavi, the latter hitting the bar.
