FC Barcelona: First Leg of Copa Del Rey Semifinal Ends in Draw in Valencia

After beating Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey last week, FC Barcelona's next big challenge was Valencia in the semifinal. Valencia are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football and always a force to be reckoned with. However, Barcelona at the moment is looking a little tired and ragged, and last night Pep Guardiola had to make do without some key players due to injury, such as Andres Iniesta.

In the first half of the match the two teams looked pretty even, but Valencia seemed to create some better chances than Barcelona. Cesc Fabregas set up a shot for Alexis, but unfortunately he was unable to do anything with it. Immediately afterwards Jonas scored the first goal of the match to put the hosts in the lead.

However, Barcelona responded to this immediately and ten minutes later Alexis shot at the goal, which was deflected to give Barcelona a corner. Once again, Puyol used his head and put the ball beyond the keeper and into the back of the net to equalise for the Catalans.

When play resumed after the break Alexis seemed to have scored only to have the goal disallowed for offside. Then ten minutes into the second half, Barcelona was awarded a penalty, looking like a great opportunity for Barcelona to take the lead. However, the penalty didn't go as planned and a rather hesitant kick from Messi was easily intercepted by the Valencia goalkeeper and pushed aside.

Although Barcelona was now dominating possession they were unable to do anything with the ball despite creating a few new chances; they just weren't able to score and the match ended 1-1 going into the return leg at the Nou Camp next week. At least Barcelona have the advantage. Let's hope that they've recovered some of the energy, and can put on a more impressive display.

While they remain in the Copa del Rey and Champions League, it is looking increasingly likely that Real Madrid will take the domestic Spanish league title this season. They are currently way out in front with a seven point lead. which is going to be difficult to close at this stage of the competition. Barcelona would need to win all their remaining matches, while waiting for Madrid to slip up big time. While many criticisms may be levelled at Real Madrid