Atletico Madrid Humble Barcelona with Four-Goal Blitz in Copa del Rey Semi-Final
Atletico Madrid delivered a sensational first-half performance to thrash La Liga leaders FC Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.
The two sides were meeting at this stage of the competition for the second consecutive year, after Barcelona triumphed en route to lifting their 32nd Copa del Rey title last season. This time, however, Diego Simeone’s men gained emphatic revenge, racing into a four-goal lead before the break.
Atleti’s opener set the tone for a disastrous evening for the visitors. A misplaced backpass from Eric Garcia to goalkeeper Joan Garcia slipped under the keeper’s foot and rolled into his own net.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the 14th minute when competition top scorer Antoine Griezmann curled home a superb effort against his former club. From then on, Atletico dominated and looked threatening with every attack.
Although Fermin Lopez struck the woodwork for Barcelona, it proved a rare bright moment in an otherwise one-sided first half. Atletico extended their lead in the 33rd minute when Giuliano Simeone surged down the right and fed Julian Alvarez, who squared for Ademola Lookman to fire home his second goal in as many matches for the club.
Alvarez then brought an end to his two-month, 11-match goal drought in emphatic fashion, unleashing a powerful long-range strike in first-half stoppage time to make it four.
Barcelona’s frustrations deepened after the break. They believed they had pulled one back when Pau Cubarsi converted from close range following a pass from Robert Lewandowski. However, after a record-equalling eight-minute VAR review matching the longest check set during Bournemouth’s FA Cup win over Wolves last season, the goal was ruled out for offside.
The visitors’ night worsened further when Eric Garcia was sent off five minutes from time following another VAR review, after fouling substitute Alex Baena as he raced through on goal.
The heavy defeat leaves Barcelona with a daunting task in the return leg on 3 March, as they attempt to overturn the deficit against the 10-time Copa del Rey winners.
