Wednesday saw Barcelona and Real Madrid face off in El Clasico, with these two Spanish giants locking horns in the 2nd leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal affair.
The Catalan giants triumphed at Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg and were thus seen as the favorites to go through. However, the unexpected occurred: Los Blancos demolished their bitter rivals at the iconic Camp Nou.
Karim Benzema grabbed a hat-trick en route to a 4-0 thumping while Vinicius Jr. also got on the scoresheet, breaking the deadlock just before half-time. Speaking of the Brazilian ace, not only was he deadly on the pitch, but the South American winger was also involved in several battles, both with and without the ball.
The Blancos ace was involved in altercations with Gavi and later Ferran Torres, with Ronald Araujo eventually enduring a spat with the Selecao star. The Barcelona center-back was even caught on camera shoving the 22-year-old to the floor after exchanging a few words, leaving many wondering about what was said.
Speaking after the game, Araujo revealed what caused his clash with the Brazilian, stating that the former Flamengo starlet was badmouthing his teammates throughout the 90 minutes instead of focusing on the game.
"I got a little heated because he was talking to my teammates the entire game, taunting them," the Uruguayan said, as per Mundo Deportivo.
"I've always said he is a great player who will get a lot better if he's only focused on playing. I'm always respectful, but he was talking a lot and I got a little heated."
Regardless, Vinicius Junior and Co. are through to the Copa del Rey final, where they will face Osasuna, while Barcelona missed out on a golden opportunity to win the double. Xavi's men remain 12 points clear at the top in La Liga and appear destined to win the league but have been eliminated from the domestic cup and Europe as well.
Next up for the Catalan giants is a home clash with Girona this weekend while Real Madrid prepare for a tricky week, with Ancelotti's men facing Villarreal on Saturday before hosting Chelsea for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
