MATCH REPORT | Goalless and all to play for at Anoeta
RCD Mallorca and Real Sociedad played out a goalless draw in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals at Son Moix.
A goalless draw between RCD Mallorca and Real Sociedad in a packed Son Moix in which Real Sociedad had the better of the chances and RCD Mallorca managed to shut up shop and keep their Copa del Rey dreams alive. Everything will be decided in the second leg at the Estadio de Anoeta.
The two teams started the game by spending a few minutes testing each other out, both teams having forays into the opposition's half without taking any risks in defence. Every duel, every ball, every metre that the players tried to advance on the pitch was a battle, with the maximum intensity that a match of this stature calls for.
Little by little, Real Sociedad took control of the ball, to which RCD Mallorca responded with quick transitions that lifted the Son Moix crowd out of their seats. The early chances hardly posed any danger to the goals defended by Greif and Remiro. Abdón Prats and Dani Rodríguez ended up with shots that missed the target on two occasions. For his part, Sadiq had the clearest chance when he sent a header over the crossbar from inside the six-yard box after a spectacular ball from Barrenetxea.
With hardly any dangerous chances but a lot of hard work, the game went into half-time with the scoreboard still goalless.
The second half started with the game being a little more open and with two clear chances, one for each team’s attacking players. Abdón Prats almost put Mallorca ahead and Sadiq narrowly missed from a dangerous cross from the left.
The San Sebastian team kept on creating openings, especially through Sadiq. The Nigerian striker missed and sent the ball over the bar after a lovely pass from Take. Shortly after, Greif deflected a dangerous Barrenetxea shot after some great individual play.
Until the 90 minutes were up, Real tried unsuccessfully to get the goal that would give them the advantage in the tie, but the Balearic defence held out for a clean sheet and with it the hopes of keeping alive the dream of playing in another Copa del Rey final.
Son Moix experienced a night to remember with a full house in the stands and a spectacular atmosphere. Everything will be decided in the second leg, which takes place next Tuesday 27 February at 9.30pm at the Estadio de Anoeta.
MATCH INFO
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RCD MALLORCA (0): Greif, Valjent, Nastasic, Copete, J.Costa, Samu (Omar Mascarell, 90'), Dani Rodríguez (C) (Dani Rodríguez, 77'), S.Darder (Morlanes, 77'), G.González, Larin (Radonjic, 77'), Abdón Prats (Muriqi, 66') |
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Coach: Javier Aguirre |
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REAL SOCIEDAD (0): A. Remiro, H.Traore, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Javi Galán, Brais Méndez, Zubimendi, Mikel Merino (C) (Turrientes, 89'), Barrenetxea (Magunazelaia, 90'), Take, Sadiq (André Silva, 78') |
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Coach: Imanol Alguacil |
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GOALS: |
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REFEREE: Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz: Showed yellow cards to Copete (46'), Dani Rodríguez (68') and J.Costa (96') for RCD Mallorca and to Zubeldia (55'), Merino (80') and André Silva (95') for Real Sociedad. Assistant referees: Eliana Fernández González and Fabián Blanco Rodríguez Fourth official: Sergiu C. Muresan Muresan VAR: Pablo González Fuertes AVAR: Alfredo Rodríguez Moreno |
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STADIUM: First leg of the semi-final of the Copa del Rey 2023-2024, played at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix with a full house. |
Photo: @RealSociedad