Raissa's Blog - Best of Sports, Culture, and Entertainment

Barcelona may have lost 1-2 to Valencia in the final of the Copa del Rey but that didn't prevent the Argentine maestro from standing out. Messi scored Barcelona's lone goal in the game to become the first ever player to net in six separate Copa del Rey finals. He has now scored seven goals in six Copa del Rey finals. Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo gave Valencia an early lead over Barcelona in the first half of the game, with Messi pulling one back for Barcelona in the 73rd minute. Barcelona failed to compete during the first 45 minutes, with poor performances from the likes of Arthur, Semedo, Coutinho, and Rakitic.  'Los Che' on the other hand played heartily, defeated the odds and won their first Copa del Rey since 2008. Barcelona had over 70% of ball possession, created the most chances but Valencia had a sharp pace on the counter-attack, making the most of their limited ball possession. Valverde's future at Barcelona is in doubt after Barcelona's Champions

Valencia shocked their hosts, Barcelona, during Saturday's La Liga fixture. Valencia took a two-goal lead before half-time against La Liga leaders Barcelona. A Kevin Gameiro goal and a Dani Parejo penalty saw Valencia dominate the first twenty minutes of the game. Lionel Messi scored for a ninth consecutive match, a brace this time, which earned Barcelona a 2-2 draw against Valencia. Messi reduced Valencia's lead with a brilliant equalizer at the 26th minute, and got Barcelona level at the 64th minute.  Jordi Alba's presence was greatly missed in the first half of the game - Barcelona are much better at attacking when they have Alba as an outlet on the left flank. The face of the game completely changed once he stepped in, in the second half.  50 - Lionel Messi is the third player in @LaLigaEN history to score 50 penalty goals, after Cristiano Ronaldo (61) and Hugo Sanchez (56). Milestone. pic.twitter.com/7oDJL2BhFT — OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 2, 2019