Mallorca and Real Sociedad draw 0-0 in first leg of Copa del Rey semifinals
MADRID (AP) — Mallorca and Real Sociedad drew 0-0 in a lackluster first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Tuesday.
Neither team had many significant scoring chances at Son Moix Stadium in the Balearic Islands. Sociedad was slightly closer to breaking the deadlock in a match in which the hosts ended with no attempts on target.
“They have a quality team, that is playing in the Champions League, so I’m satisfied with the result,” Mallorca coach Javier Aguirre said. “Of course we would have liked to win, but it wasn’t easy. The series remains open.”
Mallorca's best chance was a shot by Abdón Prats that missed just wide in the 51st minute. Sociedad came close with Umar Sadiq's close-range attempt that went over the crossbar in the 71st after a cross by Japan international Takefusa Kubo.
“If you look at the second half, we deserved a better result,” Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil said. “We did more to deserve the win but in the end we couldn't get the ball to go in.”
The second leg will be on Feb. 18 in Basque Country.
Sociedad is trying to return to the Copa final for the first time since it beat rival Athletic Bilbao to lift the trophy in 2019-20.
Mallorca, partly owned by Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and former NBA great Steve Nash, won the Copa in 2003 but hadn’t made it to the semifinals since 2009. Its last appearance in the final was 2003 when it beat Recreativo Huelva.
Mallorca, which had eliminated Girona in the Copa quarterfinals, sits just outside the relegation zone in the Spanish league.
Sociedad has drawn its last three matches 0-0. It is sixth in the Spanish league and will play Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
The first leg of the other semifinal will be played on Wednesday with Atletico Madrid hosting Athletic.
Atletico is playing in the last four of the Copa for the first time in seven seasons and is seeking its first title since 2013. Athletic eliminated Barcelona to reach the semifinals for the fifth straight season. The Basque Country club last won the competition in 1984.
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