Rakitic targeting Copa del Rey glory

Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic has revealed his main objective this season is to win the Copa del Rey.

Rakitic revealed his desire to go all the way following the draw for the round of 16 that paired his side with Espanyol, an opponent he believes are ‘a very good team’.

“The Copa del Rey is always something very special. I won the cup in Germany with Schalke and now I want to win the Spanish cup,” he said.

The first tie will see Sevilla host the Catalans at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on October 31 before playing the return leg on November 28.

Espanyol’s assistant coach, Toni Jimenez, agreed with Rakitic that the Copa del Rey is an important competition, however, given that his side currently sit at the bottom of La Liga they have to remain focused on accumulating points and avoiding relegation.

“The competition is important. But, now we cannot afford to think about it. There are many days before we play against Sevilla and we need to get some positive results at this time,” Jimenez said.