Barca beat Valencia to enter Copa del Rey final

Herald Globe (IANS) Thursday 9th February, 2012

FC Barcelona booked their third Copa del Rey football final appearance in four years with a 2-0 win at home to Valencia Wednesday night.

The win gives Barca a 3-1 aggregate win and they will face Athletic Club Bilbao in a repeat of the 2009 final, which Barca won 4-1.

Barcelona had not been convincing in the first leg against Valencia or in last weekend's home league game against Real Sociedad.

Valencia, meanwhile, were handicapped by a bout of flu which left top scoring striker Roberto Soldado in the team hotel and gave Aritz Aduriz the responsibility of finding the net, Xinhua reported.

Although Valencia created chances with a series of set pieces in the opening five minutes, Barca soon took control of the ball and Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring after 14 minutes. The former Arsenal captain ran onto a through ball from Lionel Messi and lifted the ball over advancing Valencia keeper Diego Alves.

That was the start of a series of chances for Barca: Issac Cuenca fired over, Alexis Sanchez saw a shot saved and Cesc should have scored again following an error from Victor Ruiz only to be denied by Alves.

The second half began with Jose Pinto reacting well to deny Jordi Alba as Valencia came out looking to get back on level terms, while at the other end, Messi continued to cause problems in what was turning into a thrilling end to end game.

Valencia's chances took a dive after 76 minutes after Sophane Feghouli was sent off for a second yellow card after pushing his hand into Gerard Pique's face.

Xavi doubled Barca's lead after a flowing passing move with 12 minutes left to effectively kill off the tie.

The only question now to be answered is where the final will be played, with Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium the logical choice as it will allow the maximum number of fans from two of Spain's best supported teams to enjoy what is certain to be an exceptional sporting event.