MADRID — Real Madrid's Copa del Rey demolition of Barcelona has boosted hopes for the team's progress in the Champions League and raised fears that the Catalan giant could crash out of the competition. Newspapers in both cities summed up the mood of triumph and dejection after Real's 3-1 win Tuesday night that took Jose Mourinho's side through to the final of the tournament 4-2 on aggregate, with one eye on the last-16 return legs from next week. The Portuguese forward became the first player to score in six straight ‘Clasicos' away from home when he picked himself up after being felled by Gerard Pique in the 13th minute and struck a powerful low penalty into the corner past Jose Manuel Pinto. Barca dominated possession but rarely threatened and Ronaldo doubled the lead when he collected a rebound from a 57th-minute Angel Di Maria effort and stroked the ball into the net with Pinto stranded. It was his 12th goal in 18 appearances against Barca since joining Real in 2009 and his second double in as many games at a stunned Nou Camp. Real rubbed salt in the wounds of their arch-rivals when Raphael Varane rose above the defense at a 68th-minute corner and sent a header straight into the net off the crossbar. Jordi Alba pulled one back in the 89th minute. “Now we're going for Manchester” said sports daily Marca, referring to the match against English Premier League leader Manchester United at the Santiago Bernabeu next Tuesday, which is finely poised at 1-1. Marca also assessed that the Champions League was now providing the motivation for defending La Liga champion Madrid, which is currently in third, 16 points behind Barca. Barcelona itself has a mountain to climb to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit against AC Milan in Europe's premier club competition on March 12 — particularly if its current form continues. “It (the match) was a disaster but we have to get up,” said El Mundo Deportivo on its front page, calling an “unrecognizable” Barca “predictable and slow”. “The team needs to recover to try and come back in the Champions League against Milan,” the daily added. On Tuesday's match, there was joy in the Spanish capital that an eight-day stretch that could define Madrid's season had started so perfectly. The two sides meet again in the league Saturday. “The tide turns,” said Marca on its front page. “Relentless Madrid strip bare and annihilate Barca in the Camp Nou to progress to the final of the Copa del Rey.” Focus inevitably centered on both sides' star players — four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — with Marca saying the Portuguese, who scored two goals on the night, put in a “powerful display while Messi was invisible”. Barca said that Messi, who played the full game, did not train with the side Wednesday morning and was being treated for “a fever and general sickness”. Ronaldo has now scored a remarkable eight goals in the pair's last six encounters. Other than Ronaldo there was particular praise for 19-year-old central defender Raphael Varane, who scored in each leg of the tie and was also immaculate in his defensive duties. — Agencies
