Barcelona 4 – 4 Atlético Madrid
Barcelona seemed destined for victory after overturning a 2-0 deficit to lead 4-2 by the 83rd minute, but two late goals from Atlético Madrid snatched the win away in a dramatic finish.
The crowd had barely settled in when Barcelona’s net rippled—once, then again. Stunned by two early goals, the Catalans mounted a brilliant comeback, scoring four times to take control of the match. But just when they thought they had secured the win, Atlético struck back with two late goals to force a draw.
The first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final ended in a thrilling 4-4 stalemate.
At the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night, Barcelona found themselves trailing 2-0 within just six minutes. By the 83rd minute, they had turned things around to lead 4-2, only to concede twice in the closing moments.
Atlético’s early goals came from Julián Álvarez and Antoine Griezmann. But Barcelona responded before halftime with goals from Pedri, Pau Cubarsí, and Iñigo Martínez. Substitute Robert Lewandowski extended their lead in the second half, but Marcos Llorente pulled one back for Atlético before substitute Alexander Sørloth equalized in the dying moments of stoppage time.
Back in December, it was Sørloth who had scored a 96th-minute winner as Atlético won 2-1 at Barcelona’s home ground in La Liga.
This time, Atlético wasted no time, taking the lead within the first minute. Griezmann played a short corner, received the return pass, and floated a cross into the box. Clément Lenglet flicked it on, and Álvarez smashed a volley past the goalkeeper.
The clock read just 46 seconds.
Before Barcelona could recover, they conceded again in the sixth minute, undone by their high defensive line and a misplaced pass from Jules Koundé. Atlético pounced on the mistake, with Álvarez slipping a pass to Griezmann, who dribbled into the box and slotted past the goalkeeper.
Barcelona had a golden opportunity to pull one back in the 12th minute when Ferran Torres found himself one-on-one with the keeper, but Juan Musso denied him.
But the hosts didn’t have to wait much longer. Between the 19th and 21st minutes, they struck twice to level the game.
Pedri netted the first, firing a low shot past the keeper after Koundé’s pass found him near the penalty spot. Moments later, 18-year-old defender Cubarsí powered in a header from Raphinha’s corner—his first goal in 63 matches for Barcelona.
Torres had another great chance in the 32nd minute when he dribbled past the advancing goalkeeper, but he lost his balance and couldn’t get his shot away.
Barcelona took the lead in the 41st minute, capitalizing on Atlético’s poor defending. Raphinha’s corner found Iñigo Martínez unmarked in the box, and the veteran defender headed home to put the hosts ahead.
Atlético became increasingly defensive, spending most of the first half pinned inside their own half. Before the break, Musso made two crucial saves to deny Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo.
In the 52nd minute, Barcelona had a scare when Rodrigo De Paul set up Griezmann inside the box, but Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny reacted quickly to block his low shot.
Barcelona appealed for a penalty in the 58th minute when Yamal was brought down by José María Giménez in the box, but the referee waved play on. Atlético thought they had scored in the 72nd minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Six minutes later, Barcelona extended their lead to 4-2. Lewandowski, who had come on as a substitute just minutes earlier, tapped in from close range after brilliant footwork from Yamal, who dribbled past one defender and nutmegged another before setting up the Polish striker.
Atlético, however, weren’t done. Llorente reignited the contest in the 84th minute with a powerful strike inside the box.
Barcelona were still on course for victory, but in the 93rd minute, Sørloth stunned the home crowd. Samuel Lino provided the assist, and the Norwegian forward smashed in from close range to secure a dramatic draw for Atlético.
The second leg will be played at Atlético’s home ground on April 2.
