On Wednesday against Malaga, Barça continue with this chance to finally beat the same team three times in a row, something they have not managed to do before. They have already beaten the Andalusians 3-1 in La Liga and now face the two legs of the Copa del Rey tie. Playing the same side so often in a short space of time has proven to be a somewhat uncomfortable situation in recent years.
The most recent example came two seasons ago against Real Madrid, when FCB met their biggest rivals in games corresponding to the league, cup and Champions League. The first of the trio of back-to-back clásicos ended all square (1-1) in la Liga. Barça then lost the Cup Final in extra time (0-1) and ended the series with a 2-0 win at the Bernabéu en route to their fourth European crown.
Sevilla and Zaragoza
Against Sevilla, managed at the time by Manolo Jiménez, Barcelona started with a shock 2-1 defeat at the Camp Nou in the round of sixteen of the Copa del Rey, but reacted with a 1-0 win in the second leg. Sadly, that wasn’t enough to ensure qualification for the next round, for Sevilla went through on away goals, but Barcelona did get an emphatic 4-0 triumph shortly after when they met the same opponent in a league fixture.
The three-game series with Zaragoza came almost a decade ago in the 2003/04 season. In La Liga, the side then coached by Frank Rijkaard had few troubles (3-0), but the Catalans then lost at home in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter final (0-1) and failed to make sufficient amends in the return leg in the Aragonese capital (1-1), going out of the competition 2-1 on aggregate.
