Atletico Madrid 4 vs 0 FC Barcelona

Atletico Madrid handed FC Barcelona a massive 4–0 defeat in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg match, with Eric Garcia scoring an own goal in the 6th minute, followed by goals from Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman, and Julian Alvarez, who ended his 11-match goal drought. Barcelona’s defense was shaky, and their goalkeeper Joan Garcia’s mistake gifted Atletico the early lead. Barcelona never really recovered from that point in the match.

Despite dominating possession (65%), Barcelona struggled to create clear-cut chances, and their attack was largely ineffective, due in large part to the absences of Raphinha and Pedri. Lamine Yamal tried his best but was largely subdued by the number of players placed to watch him throughout the entire match. Atletico’s high-intensity pressing and quick transitions caught Barcelona off guard, and they capitalized on the opportunities. Lookman’s speed and skill were particularly troublesome for the visitors.

One of the biggest talking points came in the second half when Cubarsi’s goal was ruled offside after VAR took almost eight minutes to decide whether or not he was offside. The VAR check ended up killing whatever momentum Barcelona had started the second half with. With the Semi-Automatic Offside Technology malfunctioning and the previous system being used to draw the offside line, Barcelona can feel aggrieved with the decision but can’t complain about losing because of being outplayed for the majority of the match.

The last few minutes of the match were a formality after Eric Garcia was sent off for his foul on Giuliano Simeone, as he was the last man. The second leg promises to be an intense encounter, with Barcelona needing a miracle to overturn the deficit at Camp Nou.