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Real Madrid 1-2 Barcelona

Real Madrid never give up; it's in their DNA and history. That's why Mourinho's men will look for a comeback at the Camp Nou next Wednesday. The Whites are only one goal behind and will look to turn the aggregate around to reach the Copa del Rey semifinals. Jose Mourinho used a surprising starting eleven that included Altintop and Carvalho. Real Madrid gave a great performance in the first half and scored the opener through Cristiano Ronaldo, regarding whom all doubts should be dispelled. The visitors were more effective after half-time and turned the score around. Benzema had a chance to net an equaliser but sent the ball to the post after defeating Pinto. Real Madrid knew exactly what to do from the start: playing together and looking to surprise Barcelona with long passes capitalising on the speed of Ronaldo and Benzema. It didn't matter that Guardiola's men kept possession as long as they didn't prove dangerous up front. Benzema served Ronaldo a...

Casillas: "Our objective is to compete and better ourselves"

Iker Casillas lamented the way Barcelona drew the match soon after half-time because Real Madrid had been giving an excellent performance till then. "We had a good start and kept a clean sheet, which is what we wanted, until Barcelona drew the match from a set piece in which we made a mistake. We had defended well in the first half. Moments like that throw all our work to out the window." "We have to use our weapons, just like they do. We have to be ourselves. Our objective is to compete and better ourselves."

Benzema: "We'll go to Barcelona to seal the pass"

Benzema and Granero analysed tonight's match against Barcelona in the mixed zone. Benzema "Barcelona are always a great team and we'll have to fight to the end of the next game the way we did tonight in the first half. This is a two game tie and there's still one left, although it was important to win at home. We'll try to defeat them and reach the next round in Barcelona." Granero "It's a painful result for us because it's always difficult to lose at our stadium. The tie is open and we'll fight in the return leg to make things difficult for Barcelona." "We'll have to change our mentality to win Sunday's league match. I'm sure tonight's game will help us be in high spirits to face Athletic Bilbao. We'll think about the return leg after that. The crowd supported the team throughout the entire match and we'll try to compensate them in the Camp Nou clash."

Mourinho: "The tie is open but difficult"

"The tie is open but difficult. Ties are not games. We tried to control the match and score, and we expected our opponent to leave open spaces for us to counterattack in as they searched for a goal. We also wanted to use this to wait for the clock to tick away. We wanted them to experience difficulty losing 1-0, but we cannot afford to concede set piece goals." "I did not look to concede a goal from a set piece at the start of the second half. We wanted to keep winning 1-0 and avoid making the mistakes we made before half-time. A 1-0 score is a bad result for the visitors and we expected Barcelona to dominate more and leave spaces as they looked for a strike, but we conceded that set piece strike. A team that wants to defeat Barcelona cannot concede that sort of goal. We expected to have more chances to counterattack. Conceding that strike right after half-time affected both sides on a psychological level; it was good for them and they eventually netted a ...

Carvalho: "We'll give our all to turn the tie around"

Ricardo Carvalho returned to the centre of the defence against Barcelona after recovering from his knee injury. The defender and Sergio Ramos addressed the media in the mixed zone after the match. Carvalho "We can always do better. We were fine and playing a tight and balanced game, but Puyol's goal after half-time changed everything. Barcelona became more confident and their game improved. We'll do everything we can to turn the tie around." "It's been a complicated year for me because I played many games last season and I've experienced physical problems from the start of the present campaign. I feel better each day and expect to return to last season's form. I was really looking forward to playing and helping the team." Ramos "We must be realistic: we didn't do too well. We threw our advantage away and Barcelona were efficient at scoring. We must now think about La Liga. It will be difficult to defeat Barcel...

Butragueño: "We are Real Madrid, a team accustomed to overcoming difficulties"

Emilio Butragueño analizó el primero de los dos Clásicos de los que saldrá uno de los semifinalistas de la Copa del Rey: “Estoy un poco triste porque nos hemos puesto por delante pero no hemos sido capaces de controlar el ritmo y jugar con nuestras armas, que son muchas”. El director de Relaciones Institucionales del Real Madrid prefiere pasar página y pensar ya solo en la remontada, algo que ve factible: “Somos el Real Madrid. Un gran equipo acostumbrado a superar las dificultades”. "I'm a little sad because we scored the opener but were unable to set our own pace to the game and use our weapons, which are many." "We crowded the midfield more and Barcelona found it difficult to reach our goal. We took the lead in the first half. Our midfielders didn't allow Messi to play and kept him in check. He didn't participate in attack as he does in other games. We were always aware of how dangerous they are in attack. Iker was forced to make se...

Pepe: "It was unintentional and I apologise if Messi was offended"

"I wish to say yesterday's incident with Leo Messi was unintentional, but I neverteheless want to apologise to him if he was offended because all I do is defend my team and this institution. I give my heart and soul, and the thought of hurting a colleague has never enetered my mind."

Real Madrid resume training on Friday

The Whites will start preparing for Sunday's league match against Athletic Bilbao at 11:00 CET behind closed doors Realmadrid.com / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell Real Madrid have the day off today. They will resume training tomorrow at 11:00 CET to start preparing for Sunday's La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao (21:30 CET). The session will be carried out behind closed doors.

Casillas to make 600th official appearance with Real Madrid on Sunday

Iker Casillas continues writing history at Real Madrid. The goalkeeper will play his 600th official match with the Whites on Sunday's league clash with Athletic Bilbao. Since making his debut 13 seasons ago, Iker has won two Champions League titles, two Intercontinental Cups, one European Super Cup, four league championships, one Copa del Rey and three Spanish Super Cups. Casillas made his official debut against Athletic at San Mames on 12 September 1999, and he's since become a legendary Madridista in his own right. He'll soon overtake Hierro and Gento on the ranking of appearances with the team and he's slowly, but steadily, approaching Raul's record 741 games. Casillas is the first goalkeeper in the history of the club to play so many games with the team.