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Real see off Seville in Copa
Real Madrid edged towards a place in the King's Cup final as second-half goals from Santiago Solari and Raul earned them a 2-0 win over Sevilla in their semi-final first leg at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
The Argentine midfielder helped set up the second 15 minutes from time, winning the ball on the left and working it across for Raul to sweep low into the right-hand corner with a classy first-time finish. Sevilla produced a typically gritty performance but failed to take their chances and Real will have a valuable lead going into next week's second leg. Second-division Alaves host Real Zaragoza in the second semi-final, first leg on Thursday. Missing leading striker Ronaldo, who was forced to pull out at the last minute because of illness, Real were guilty of a series of bad misses in the first half. Zinedine Zidane created the first clear chance of the game, teeing the ball up for an unmarked Raul to smash high and wide from eight metres out. Sevilla, who dealt Real Madrid their worst defeat of the season when beating them 4-1 at home in the league, were quick to respond.
Real were caught out midway through the half when Julio Baptista burst past two defenders on his way into the area, but the Brazilian striker lost his footing under pressure from Raul Bravo. Real upped the pressure in the final 10 minutes before the break, but Javier Portillo and Ivan Helguera both missed with close-range headers over the bar. The game turned with Solari's spectacular finish in the 55th minute. Given space on the left, the Argentine turned inside one defender on the edge of the area and lashed the ball across goalkeeper Esteban and into the roof of the net. Real picked up a gear after the goal and Roberto Carlos, Guti and Zidane all carved out chances before Raul added the second. |
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