Barcelona (2) 1 - Espanyol (1) 1

FC Barcelona went through to the semi-finals thanks to their away victory in the first leg against their rivals from across town Espanyol. It was a hard fought match, fired up by declarations during the week from Espanyol's manager Paco Flores that Barcelona should never have been allowed back in to the competition after being banned for refusing to play last year's semi-final, and tempers flared throughout the game. Both teams lined up strong sides, with Kluivert and Rivaldo both starting for Barça and Espanyol only bringing in reserve keeper Argensó and right back Navas from their usual starting line up. Frank De Boer opened the scoring for the home side in the sixth minute heading on a corner from Guardiola at the near post, and Argensó stopped Luis Enrique from making it two with a good save. But then a mistake by Barça's keeper Reina, trying to catch the ball rather than punch it clear, left Roger free in front of goal, and the ex Barcelona midfielder made no mistake. Referee Pérez Burrull waved away claims that the keeper had been fouled as he fell, and then disallowed a headed goal by Kluivert just before half time for a non-existent offside. The tackles got harder as the game wore on, and Pérez Burrull eventually sent off Cocu for a tackle from behind on an Espanyol player, an action which resulted in a heated argument between both sides. Serra Ferrer pulled of Alfonso, who had come on as an early substitute for the injured Overmars, and brought on Gerard as cover. Nishizawa came on for Tamudo, and with two minutes to go the Japanese striker got the ball in the net, only to see the goal ruled out as Toledo was in an offside position when he headed the ball back to him. Dani came on to waste time and got himself injured, Guardiola was let off a second yellow card and even Rivaldo got booked for a malicious tackle on his marker Morales. Barcelona were through though, and the Champions are out of the cup. Espanyol still haven't won in the Nou Camp in the last 19 years, but they came as close as ever to doing so this time, and the blue and white supporters