Barcelona Depleted for Copa ‘Clasico’ against Real Madrid

Barcelona's Polish forward Robert Lewandowski reacts at the end of the UEFA Europa league knockout round play-off second leg football match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, north west England, on February 23, 2023. (AFP)
Barcelona's Polish forward Robert Lewandowski reacts at the end of the UEFA Europa league knockout round play-off second leg football match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, north west England, on February 23, 2023. (AFP)
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Barcelona Depleted for Copa ‘Clasico’ against Real Madrid

Barcelona's Polish forward Robert Lewandowski reacts at the end of the UEFA Europa league knockout round play-off second leg football match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, north west England, on February 23, 2023. (AFP)
Barcelona's Polish forward Robert Lewandowski reacts at the end of the UEFA Europa league knockout round play-off second leg football match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, north west England, on February 23, 2023. (AFP)

Barcelona had been scoring at ease, getting plenty of goals from its forwards to keep thriving in the Spanish league and the Copa del Rey.

Lack of offensive prowess was far from a problem for the Catalan club.

But things have changed entering a crucial part of the season, with Barcelona attracting attention for a series of injuries in attack and enduring a poor scoring run.

Barcelona will be without some of its top scorers when it visits Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Thursday. And it’s not known if they will be fit when the rivals meet again in a decisive Spanish league match in a few weeks.

Barcelona will head to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium without Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembélé and Pedri because of injuries. The trio have combined for 40 goals this season, with 25 coming from Lewandowski, eight from Dembélé and seven from Pedri.

Lewandowski is out with a hamstring strain sustained in the 1-0 loss at Almería on Sunday, which marked the first time Barcelona failed to score a goal in a match since October. Pedri and Dembélé are nursing muscle injuries.

“We are missing three important players, but we can still compete,” Barcelona coach Xavi said Wednesday. “More than ever, we need to play as a team. We have to play with personality.”

Forward Ansu Fati also has been injured recently but was expected to be available for Xavi at the Bernabéu.

He could play on the left side of the attack, with Raphinha on the right and Ferran Torres coming in as a striker. Torres had one of his best games with Barcelona in a league “clasico” against Madrid last year, when the Catalan club won 4-0 at the Bernabéu. Xavi could use Gavi in a more offensive position in midfield if Fati doesn't play.

Barcelona outscored opponents 24-7 in a 11-game winning run that ended with the home draw against Manchester United in the first leg of the Europa League playoffs. It then lost 2-1 in England last week to see its hopes of silverware reduced to the Copa and the league, where it leads Madrid by seven points.

“If you look at the last two matches, it looks like we are in the hospital,” Xavi said. “But we are still leading the league and we are in the semifinals of the Copa, so it’s been a good run. We can’t focus on the last two matches.”

Barcelona defeated Madrid 3-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final in January. It lost by the same score in the first “clasico” of the season in a league match at the Bernabéu.

“We don't want to win just to avenge the Super Cup loss,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We want to win because we are close to winning another title.”

Madrid’s attack complete

Madrid has two absences in defense because of injuries — central defender David Alaba and left back Ferland Mendy — but Ancelotti will have all of his top players available in attack.

Rodrygo is the latest forward to recover from injury and is expected to play on Thursday in an attack led by Vinícius Junior and Karim Benzema.

Madrid missed a chance to move closer to Barcelona in the league after being held by 10-man Atlético at home on Saturday. It has a 5-2 lead over Liverpool in the round of 16 of the Champions League.

Madrid is looking to win its first Copa since 2014. Barcelona won it for the last time in 2021.

The other Copa semifinal will be played between Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao, the most successful Copa team behind Barcelona.

Athletic is making its fourth straight semifinal appearance, while Osasuna is in the last four for the first time since reaching the final in 2005.



'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
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'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)

India's Fauja Singh, believed to be the world's oldest distance runner, has died in a road accident aged 114, his biographer said Tuesday.

Singh, an Indian-born British national, nicknamed the "Turbaned Tornado", died after being hit by a vehicle in Punjab state's Jalandhar district on Monday, AFP reported.

"My Turbaned Tornado is no more," Fauja's biographer Khushwant Singh wrote on X.

"He was struck by an unidentified vehicle... in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja."

Singh did not have a birth certificate but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911.

He ran full marathons (42 kilometer) till the age of 100.

His last race was a 10-kilometer (six-mile) event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon when 101, where he finished in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.

He became an international sensation after taking up distance running at the ripe old age of 89, after the death of his wife and one of his sons, inspired by seeing marathons on television.

Although widely regarded as the world's oldest marathon runner, he was not certified by Guinness World Records as he could not prove his age, saying that birth certificates did not exist when he was born under British colonial rule in 2011.

Singh was a torchbearer for the Olympics at Athens 2004 and London 2012, and appeared in advertisements with sports stars such as David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.

His strength and vitality were credited to a routine of farm walks and a diet including Indian sweet "laddu" packed with dry fruits and home-churned curd.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute on social media.

"Fauja Singh was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness," said Modi on X.

"He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world."