Atletico and Barcelona Draw in Thrilling Copa del Rey Semi-Final
Atletico Madrid and Barcelona gave fans an exciting match in the Copa del Rey semi-final, with eight goals scored, SportsRation reports. The game started strong for Atletico, who took an early lead with goals from Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann.
Barcelona, shaken by the fast goals, quickly attacked Atletico’s defence and managed to take the lead 3-2 by halftime. After the break, Barcelona scored again and seemed close to winning, but two late goals from Atletico kept the tie alive ahead of the second leg at their home ground, Wanda Metropolitano.
Key moments of the match:
Atletico Madrid shocked the crowd at Montjuic with a goal in the first minute. Griezmann crossed the ball to Clement Lenglet, who flicked it to the far post, where Alvarez scored. Alvarez then set up Griezmann with a brilliant pass, and Griezmann finished calmly past Barcelona’s goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny.
Barcelona quickly reacted. Pedri scored the equaliser in the 19th minute with a cool finish after a pass from Jules Kounde. Just two minutes later, Pau Cubarsí scored a header from a corner by Raphinha. Barcelona took the lead before halftime when Inigo Martínez also scored a header from another Raphinha corner.
The second half saw Barcelona controlling the game, but Atletico still looked dangerous on the counter-attack. Barcelona’s pressure paid off when Lamine Yamal dribbled through Atletico’s defence and set up Robert Lewandowski for a simple tap-in. However, Atletico responded late, with Marcos Llorente scoring a goal to keep things interesting.
In injury time, Alexander Sorloth scored a brilliant equaliser for Atletico, leaving the tie perfectly balanced for the return match.
