Barcelona and Atletico Madrid produced a thrilling 4-4 draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Catalonia on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid struck early with two goals in the opening six minutes, thanks to Julian Alvarez in the first minute and Antoine Griezmann in the sixth. However, Barcelona responded with four unanswered goals, taking a 4-2 lead. But Atletico mounted a late comeback, leveling the score with two goals in the final 10 minutes, including a dramatic equalizer by substitute Alexander Sorloth in the third minute of stoppage time.
Barcelona quickly answered Atletico’s early dominance, with Pedri and Pau Cubarsi scoring in the 19th and 21st minutes to level the match. The Catalan side took a 3-2 lead into the break when Iñigo Martínez found the net in the 41st minute, and Robert Lewandowski extended their advantage to 4-2 in the 74th minute.
Atletico responded late, with Marcos Llorente pulling one back in the 84th minute before Sorloth scored from close range to seal the draw.
The second leg of the semifinal will take place in April at Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium, with the winner set to face either Real Madrid or Real Sociedad, who meet on Wednesday.
Barcelona last won the Copa del Rey in 2021, while Atletico’s last triumph came in 2013. The two teams previously met in December, with Atletico winning 2-1 in La Liga.
Until this stage, all Copa del Rey knockout rounds were played as single-elimination matches.
