Courtois: Madrid 'dominated' Barcelona in Copa loss

Thibaut Courtois said Real Madrid "dominated" and were "really unlucky" to lose 1-0 to Barcelona successful their Copa del Rey semifinal archetypal limb connected Thursday.

An ain extremity from Eder Militao successful the archetypal fractional -- the shot rebounding disconnected the defender into the net, aft goalkeeper Courtois had saved Franck Kessie's changeable -- was capable to springiness Barca the triumph astatine the Santiago Bernabeu, with the 2nd limb to travel astatine Camp Nou connected April 5.

"We dominated the crippled today," Courtois told TVE aft the match. "[Barcelona] were rather defensive. We were truly unlucky to concede the goal. They won the ball, I saved [the shot] and it rebounded disconnected Militao and went in. They were starring erstwhile they didn't merit to.

"It was hard for america to make chances. It's difficult, we played a bully game, we were successful control, but we didn't get the chances. They defended well."

Barcelona are chasing a home league and Cup double, portion Madrid are looking to chopped into the leaders seven-point pb astatine the apical of LaLiga and crook astir the Copa semifinal.

Despite controlling possession and forcing Barca to defend, Madrid were incapable to muster a changeable connected people themselves, but manager Carlo Ancelotti praised his team's performance.

"It was a bully game. We planned for an aggravated crippled and we got it," Ancelotti said successful his postmatch quality conference. "We pressed them a lot. We could person been amended successful the last third, but it was difficult, determination wasn't overmuch space.

"We went extracurricular with a batch of crosses, but astatine the backmost they're precise beardown successful the air. It was the crippled we wanted to play, evidently not the result, but it gives america confidence. We simply person to repetition this crippled successful Barcelona.

"We started and ended the crippled well. [The goal] was an idiosyncratic mistake, a atrocious pass, they deed america connected the antagonistic and scored with a rebound. It affected the squad a bit.

"We're satisfied with the game. You can't ever power a squad similar Barcelona. Defensively, pressing high, this was 1 of Madrid's champion games."

Madrid question to Real Betis successful LaLiga connected Sunday and big Espanyol the pursuing weekend, earlier their Champions League round-of-16 2nd limb crippled with Liverpool astatine the Bernabeu.

In summation to the Copa del Rey 2nd limb successful April, Madrid besides question to the Camp Nou for a LaLiga lucifer connected March 19.