Atletico Madrid defeats Barcelona 4-0 in Copa del Rey semi final

Atletico Madrid Secures 4-0 Win Over Barcelona in Copa del Rey Semifinal

Atletico Madrid dominated the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal against Barcelona, scoring four goals in the first half to take a commanding lead. The match, held at Atletico’s home stadium, saw the visitors concede early and struggle to recover.

The opening goal came in the sixth minute when a routine pass back from Barcelona defender Eric Garcia was allowed to slip under goalkeeper Joan Garcia’s boot, resulting in an own goal. Eight minutes later, Atletico doubled their lead with a flowing move involving Ademola Lookman, Julian Alvarez, and Nahuel Molina.

The third goal came in the 33rd minute, followed by another counter-attack that saw Giuliano Simeone drive down the right and cross low to Alvarez, who squared for an unmarked Lookman to fire into the bottom corner. Before halftime, Atletico struck again with a combination of Lookman and Alvarez, with the Nigerian forward sliding a pass into the centre for the Argentinian to unleash a strike into the top corner.

In the second half, Barcelona searched for a lifeline but were denied by Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso. A potential goal was ruled out in the 52nd minute due to offside after a lengthy VAR review. Atletico remained dangerous and nearly added a fifth late on, with substitute Alex Baena being sent off in the 86th minute for a foul.

The match will be replayed at Camp Nou on March 3, with the winners facing Real Sociedad or Athletic Bilbao in the final.

Source: Al Jazeera