FCBARCELONA.CAT

14.01.2009 23:50

Espanyol in quarter finals

Anna Segura

After beating Atlético Madrid, Barça will face Espanyol in the last eight of the Copa del Rey. The blue and whites qualified after beating Poli Ejido (1-0).

Barça and Espanyol are set to meet in the Copa del Rey for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Nine seasons later, the tie gets off to a start with the first leg at Montjuïc next week.

Espanyol made good use of the away goals rule, for after losing 3-2 in the first leg against the Division 2B side, they won in tonight’s return leg 1-0, with the solitary goal coming from Román Martínez.

15 meetings

There have been 15 Barcelona derby matches in the Copa del Rey. Of those, 10 were won by FC Barcelona, while the other 5 went in favour of Espanyol.

Only once, in 1956-57, did the two sides ever meet in the Cup Final, known as the Copa del Generalísimo in those days. That match saw Barça collect the trophy after beating Espanyol 1-0.

Last meeting

The last time the two sides crossed paths was in 2000-01. That too was in the quarter finals, and Barça qualified by an aggregate score of 3-2. Barça won 2-1 in the first leg with goals scored by Rivaldo and Alfonso. Back at the Camp Nou, a 1-1 draw was enough to see FCB into the semi finals.

One derby already this season

Barça and Espanyol have already met once this season. That was in the 5th league match, where two late goals sealed a dramatic win for Josep Guardiola’s side at Montjuïc (1-2).