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Barcelona 3-0 Atletico Madrid (3-4 on aggregate)
Atletico Madrid will play their first Copa del Rey final in 13 years after knocking out Barcelona in a nail-biting second leg of their semi-final. In a game which seemed to leave fans, players and coaches nauseous with exhaustion, Atletico were able to repel the Barcelona comeback effort when it mattered most.
Predictably, Barcelona started off with their foot on the gas, seeking to keep the tempo high, and Atletico under pressure. Although Los Colchoneros struggled to escape their own half in the opening half hour, forced into cheap giveaways, Barcelona struggled on each occasion to make good use of possession in the final third.
Just as it looked like their aggression and tempo was beginning to fade though, Lamine Yamal found the answer. A short corner went to Lamine Yamal, who beat Ademola Lookman on the outside and fizzed a ball across the six-yard box. To the surprise of all, Marc Bernal stood lonely in the middle to tap in.
From that point on, Atletico did grow into the game though, starting to find more gaps as Barcelona struggled to maintain their intense press. Antoine Griezmann had two chances, one of which hit the post, but both would have been offside. It was Lookman that had the golden chance just before the break though, as Marcos Llorente made his first burst deep into the Barcelona half down the right. Giuliano Simeone’s subsequent cross found Lookman unmarked in the middle, but he glanced it wide of the top corner.
Such is the law of football, he was made to regret it. In stoppage time of the first-half, Barcelona got the second they needed to feel like they were on track. A quick exchange between Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres sought to release Pedri into the box, and desperate to stop it, Marc Pubill brought down the Spain midfielder. Raphinha, until then loose with the ball, sent Juan Musso the wrong way to increase the temperature for Los Colchoneros.
Image via Europa Press.
The second half was a little more sedate in its opening, with the feeling that Barcelona were conscious they would need to pace themselves in the second period. It was Joao Cancelo that forced the first save ten minutes into the second period, as Lamine Yamal began to make inroads down the left. Gliding past Matteo Ruggeri a minute later, Atletico’s backline and Musso pulled off four blocks in a row, just before the hour-mark – the signal for Diego Simeone to make changes. Alexander Sorloth and Nahuel Molina were sent on to allow Marcos Llorente to push into midfield, captain Koke Resurreccion and Lookman off.
It looked to habe made an impact. Shortly after, Atletico had their first spell of prolonged possession in the Barcelona half. While it ended in a harmless Molina shot, it seemed to expose the growing fatigue among the Barcelona players, who struggled to track the opposition runners. Having lost Jules Kounde to injury after 11 minutes, his replacement Alejandro Balde then exited in tears with 20 minutes to go.
Seconds ticked on with an increasing weight for Barcelona, who began to look more nervous themselves now. Right on cue, another short corner undid Atletico. This time it was Joao Cancelo’s flighted cross to the far post found Bernal again, free to cushion the volley into the far corner. In a bold move, Hansi Flick sent Ronald Araujo, Balde’s replacement, up front to cause maximum chaos. Instead, Atletico began to break the game up, finding ways to make less things happen.
Players, managers and fans agonised as time slowed still further. At this point, Los Rojiblancos turtled into their own third, set on seeing out their lead. Barcelona launched cross after cross and corner after corner at the Atleti defence, who held firm. In the final minute of normal time, Gerard Martin rasped a drive narrowly over, and everyone looked nervously for the fourth official’s board: six minutes.
Even if Sorloth ran clear and blazed a shot over, even if Lamine Yamal curled one wide in the dying moments, it felt as if the clock was barely moving, and the players themselves had stopped. When the whistle sounded for the final time, Atletico partied in the middle of the pitch. Moments later, Diego Simeone was seen walking up the tunnel, exhaling deeply, processing, recovering, savouring.
Barcelona were left unsated by a gargantuan effort, but knew that they needed something special to qualify. While their performance was excellent, the crowning moment, the piece of magic in the dying stages eluded them. Atletico, by contrast, heaved themselves to the final whistle. If there was any question about their mental strength, Simeone will rewatch the way his side defended, dug in and disrupted Barcelona in the final 20 minutes when the tie was in the balance. There, in those moments, was an unselfish, humble display, and those minutes were their passage to the final.