New Delhi: Barcelona and Atletico Madrid played out a thrilling 4-4 draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. Despite falling two goals behind Atletico staged an impressive comeback holding Barca in a dramatic contest that showcased their resilience.
Atletico Madrid started strong as they registered two goals in the opening six minutes of the game through Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann. The hosts responded with an impressive counter as they levelled the game by the 21st minute from Pedri and Pau Cabarsi’s two goals two minutes apart. Barca took 3-2 lead heading into the half-time as Inigo Martinez scored in the 41st minute.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick benched top scorer Lewandowski with Ferran Torres who missed the opportunity to score when Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso stopped his weak shot. He missed another chance after rounding Musso but failed to convert under pressure from Clement Lenglet in the first half which forced Flick to introduce Lewandowski in the second half.
🎥 HIGHLIGHTS 🎥
Barça 4️⃣-4️⃣ Atlético Madrid pic.twitter.com/ZKVWdkdLVx— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 25, 2025
In the second half, Szczesny made a great save from Griezmann at the start with Barca still dominating the control. Sorloth’s goal got denied for offside but Barca took the lead as Lamine Yamal created it with a brilliant dribble to help substitute Robert Lewandowski tap home a 4-2 lead in the 74th minute before visitors pulled closer through Marcos Llorente in the 84th minute and Alexander Sorloth scored the equaliser in the stoppage time.
After the match, Hansi Flick said, “We are really disappointed about the result but the game we played today was really great, I focus more on this. We have to speak about the goals, it was maybe too easy (for Atletico), but we played against a fantastic team… we dominated for 75 to 80 minutes.”
🎙️ Hansi Flick talks about the draw with Atlético in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. pic.twitter.com/qNUPrCGRN3
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 26, 2025
Atletico Madrid coach Simeone played with his strongest lineup despite facing a challenging schedule including upcoming fixtures against Barcelona and a Champions League last-16 tie with Real Madrid.
What next?
The second of the Copa del Rey semifinals will be played at Atletico’s Metropolitano Stadium on April 2 and the winner will play either Real Madrid or Real Sociedad who are set to play their first leg on Wednesday.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid played an eight-goal thriller, both coming from two down, leaving the Copa del Rey semi-final wide open for the April 2 return leg. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
