Real Madrid

Barcelona’s quest for a fifth straight Copa del Rey title will be decided on May 25 at the Estadio Benito Villamarín after Wednesday’s 3-0 semifinal second leg victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. The aggregate score remained 1-1 going into the second half, but a Luis Suarez brace and Raphael Varane own goal in the space of 23 minutes granted Barcelona passage to the final at the expense of its El Clásico rival.

When you think about LaLiga records, you’re automatically drawn to things like Lionel Messi’s haul of 405 goals and counting, Cristiano Ronaldo’s 34 hat-tricks and personal ratio of 1.07 goals per game, and Messi’s single-season record of 50 goals. Those are records that rightly seem untouchable; these are spectacular times indeed. 

But in the land of Spain, in the confines of the Santiago Bernabéu, there is another record that’ll likely never be touched: Sergio Ramos’ collection of 20 red cards in LaLiga. Ramos' 20th in domestic play is a record across Europe's top five leagues.

The Video Assistant Referee is in use in the Champions League Round of 16 for the first time this week. So of course conspiracy theorists are already hard at work trying to figure out the Ajax disallowed goal that helped Real Madrid grab a 2-1 away win in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday. 

UEFA, thankfully, is smarter than the English FA and decided to start using VAR for the Champions League in the Round of 16 instead of waiting for next season. The first two matches Tuesday were without controversy and the VAR was not required. 

Alvaro Morata had to leave Chelsea — he really had no choice after his form and confidence seemingly dissipated after a slew of shocking missed opportunities. So he returned to Madrid, where he started his professional career back nearly 10 years ago. Except, he joined Atletico, not Real. 

Because someone somewhere loves us, we’re being treated to three El Clásicos between Barcelona and Real Madrid in the next month. It started on Wednesday at the Camp Nou, the first leg in the Copa del Rey semifinals, with a Malcom goal vs Real Madrid leading to a 1-1 draw.

The match didn’t feature Lionel Messi or Gareth Bale in the starting lineups, though that didn’t worry Barça fans too much after they watched their side eviscerate Los Blancos 5-1 without Messi in October. 

On Wednesday, FC Barcelona will host Real Madrid in a Copa del Rey semifinal first leg at the Camp Nou. This will be the 239th competitive meeting of the sides — and the 34th in the Copa — but it’s one that many feared Lionel Messi would miss. The Barça captain suffered a thigh injury during last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Valencia, and he only just returned to training today.