Fabregas urges Barca to take chances at Nou Camp

[attach id="238422" size="medium"]Cesc Fabregas (left) barges his way through in La Liga action.[/attach]

Cesc Fabregas has warned his Barcelona team-mates against complacency when they face Real Madrid in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final today.

The first leg finished 1-1 in Madrid and Barca’s dominance of all things domestic this season makes them favourites to advance on home soil.

But Fabregas reckons his side have already missed one chance to deliver a killer blow to Jose Mourinho’s side and they cannot afford to do so again.

“We had our chances to make it 2-0 in Madrid,” he told reporters yesterday.

“In the return leg we will need to be as effective as possible, because they are very effective. We have to be on target in front of goal if we want to get to the final.

“It’s vital to score, we cannot go into the match and wait to see what happens. In last year’s cup Clasico return leg – we had a good result from the away leg – and we were nearly eliminated from the competition.

“Real are very dangerous and in order to go through we’ll have to play the best football we’re capable of.”

Barcelona are chasing a treble with the Primera Liga title all but sewn up, although their Champions League hopes are dangling by a thread after a surprise 2-0 loss away to Milan in the first leg of their tie.

For Real, the cups have even more currency as their only hopes of silverware in a season where they have fallen drastically short of expected standards in the league.

Mourinho’s side trail Barca by 16 points in the league but can salvage some pride with cup success.

With all the attention a Clasico fixture attracts, it would be easy to forget it is one of two semi-final second legs this week with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla ready to settle their tie tomorrow, in which Atletico will head south with a 2-1 lead.

Atletico’s 1-0 victory over Espanyol on Sunday preserved their 100 per cent home record in the league this season and restored their four-point advantage over city rivals Real.

But while second place in the league is their clear priority, their success in that arena is giving the players plenty of confidence to pursue a cup trophy.

“We’re really looking forward to the match,” Juanfran said.

“The tie is very close and very open. We are thinking of going there and beating Sevilla. We have to win at the Sanchez Pizjuan.

“We have won at difficult grounds. Atletico Madrid can win in any stadium and Sevilla is no exception. Let’s go there with high spirits.”