Julius OkorieLa liga giants Barcelona and Atletico Madrid settled for a harvest of goals in their first leg semifinal of this year’s Copa del Rey at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Catalonia, on Tuesday.
The two rivalry clubs have met a record 57 times in all competitions with Barcelona winning 30 times and Atletico 12, with 15 draws in between.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe clash on Tuesday night saw both sides go, goal crazy in an eight goal thriller that ended four goals apiece. Both teams rallied from two goals down in a frantic 4-4 draw.
Atletico scored twice in the first six minutes before conceding four unanswered goals and coming back to even the match with goals in the final 10 minutes, including the equaliser by substitute Alexander Sorloth three minutes into stoppage time.
Barcelona saw Atletico jump to an early lead, with goals by Julian Alvarez in the first minute and Antoine Griezmann in the sixth, but the hosts tied the game by the 21st minute thanks to goals two minutes apart by Pedri and Pau Cubarsi.
The Catalan club took a 3-2 lead into halftime after Iñigo Martínez scored in the 41st. Robert Lewandowski increased the lead in the 74th.
Atletico pulled closer with Marcos Llorente in the 84th and Sorloth got the equaliser from close range.
It was a ding-dong affair that saw fans applauding as they watched the goals roll in, in torrents.
The first leg may have ended on a no victor, no vanquished note, but that cannot be said of the second leg billed for Atletico’s Metropolitano Stadium in April 2 where a winner must emerge.
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The winner will play either Real Madrid or Real Sociedad for a place in the final. Barcelona last won the competition in 2021, and Atletico in 2013.
Atletico had beaten Barcelona 2-1 in the Spanish league when the teams last met in December.
Until the semifinal stage, the Copa’s knockout rounds were played in single-elimination games. Meanwhile in the first leg second semifinal played at the Reale Arena (Donostia-San Sebastián), Wednesday night, Real Madrid claimed a lone goal victory, thanks to 19th minute strike by Endrick who saw 72 minutes action before being replaced by Nigeria born Austria International David Alaba.
Hosts Sociedad, had gone into the encounter with victories in four out of five last matches played. Real Madrid on their part have drawn two matches winning three in their last five matches including 3-2 win 3-1 victories over Manchester City in the UEFA Champions league play-offs that handed them a slot in the last 16. Real Madrid will be hoping to consolidate when they host the second leg on April 1
Copa del Rey or the Spanish Cup, has been played every year in the last 122 years. Reigning Champions Athletic Bilbao failed to make it to the last four this time but boasts of 24 titles. Barcelona are the most successful team in the championship with 31 titles in the kitty.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
