Barcelona beats Atlético de Madrid and goes to the Copa del Rey final with Real
Rivals meet again in the final of the competition after 11 years
Classic in the decision
Barcelona and Real Madrid will face off again in the Copa del Rey after 11 years. On Wednesday, the Catalan team beat Atlético de Madrid 1-0 away from home and secured the second spot in the final – the first leg ended in a 4-4 draw. Ferrán Torres scored the winning goal at the Metropolitano, taking advantage of a great pass from Lamine Yamal. In the last derby between the rivals in the Copa del Rey final, Real came out on top: 2-1 over Barça, in the 2013/14 final.
VICTORY IN THE FIRST HALF
Even away from home, Barcelona dominated the first half as if they were in Catalonia. They created numerous dangerous situations on all sides of the attack and did not let Atlético de Madrid feel comfortable on the pitch at any point. The home team was caught out by fouls and complained to referee José Muñuera, who gave four yellow cards to Atlético and one to Barça, with rigor – he only failed to give a yellow card to Balde for pushing Giuliano Simeone. Barça’s 1-0 lead in the first half, scored by Ferrán Torres after a perfect pass from Yamal in the area, was easy for Atlético
BALANCED SECOND HALF
Atlético de Madrid returned from the break with three changes and finally managed to level the match. Norwegian Sörloth, a key player in the box, began to trouble the Catalan defense and even scored, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Barcelona also reacted with substitutions. Lewandowski’s entry helped the team to keep the ball in attack, and Hansi Flick’s team managed to hold on to the lead until the end.
