Atletico Madrid blew holders Barcelona away with a ruthless 4-0 win in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Thursday night.
An early Eric Garcia own goal set the tone before Antoine Griezmann,
Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to hand Diego Simeone’s men a stunning four-goal cushion by half-time.
Barcelona’s misery deepened late on when Garcia was sent off, leaving the Catalans with a mountain to climb ahead of the March 3 second leg at Camp Nou.
First-Half Demolition
The breakthrough came after just seven minutes when Garcia’s back pass bobbled awkwardly on the uneven Metropolitano pitch and slipped under Joan Garcia’s foot into his own net.
From there, it was relentless.
Griezmann, facing his former club, slid home the second as Atletico repeatedly sliced through Barca’s high defensive line. Lookman added a third after a slick team move, prompting a touchline sprint from an ecstatic Simeone. Alvarez then ended his 11-game goal drought by smashing home Atletico’s fourth.
“We had a great first half, reading the game very well, we were very efficient and calm in the final third,” Simeone said. “I think our fans need these games… they need big matches.”
Flick Frustrated
Barcelona had moments. Fermin Lopez rattled the crossbar, and Pau Cubarsi saw a goal ruled out after a lengthy VAR review for offside: a decision Hansi Flick questioned.
“I want to have the reason why it was offside,” Flick told Movistar. “I don’t know what they saw.”
Reflecting on the opening half, the German coach admitted: “In the first 45 minutes we got a great lesson for us… When you saw the players from Atletico, they have more will, they have more hunger to score goals.”
With La Liga hopes fading and Champions League doubts lingering, the Copa del Rey now looks Atletico’s clearest path to silverware — and on this evidence, they mean business.
In the other semi-final, Real Sociedad edged Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in the first leg on Wednesday.
(with AFP inputs)
