SOCCER: Atletico hit Barcelona for four to take giant step toward Copa del Rey final

MADRID – Atletico Madrid delivered a stunning first-half performance to beat Barcelona 4-0 on Thursday in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final, leaving the defending champions facing a daunting challenge ahead of the return leg.

Diego Simeone’s side needed only 45 minutes at home to take control of the tie, capitalizing on an early error and exploiting Barcelona’s defense to move within reach of an April final in Seville.

Atletico opened the scoring in the sixth minute in extraordinary fashion. Barcelona defender Eric Garcia rolled a routine pass back, but goalkeeper Joan Garcia, looking upfield, allowed the ball to slip under his foot and into the net. His desperate dive came too late.

Eight minutes later, Atletico doubled their lead with a flowing attack. Ademola Lookman received a long ball on the left and found Julian Alvarez, who switched the play to Nahuel Molina. Molina slipped a clever pass to Antoine Griezmann, who controlled it perfectly and guided the ball into the bottom corner.

The third goal came in the 33rd minute on another counterattack. Giuliano Simeone drove down the right and crossed low to Alvarez, who squared for an unmarked Lookman to finish into the bottom corner.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick responded by bringing on Robert Lewandowski in the 37th minute for Marc Casado, but the change failed to stop Atletico’s momentum.

Atletico struck again before halftime, as Lookman and Alvarez combined once more. Lookman slid a pass to Alvarez, who unleashed a powerful strike into the top corner from just inside the box.

Despite Barcelona controlling 70% of first-half possession, it was Atletico’s clinical transitions that proved decisive.

In the second half, Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso denied Fermin Lopez early as Barcelona searched for a way back into the match. In the 52nd minute, Pau Cubarsi thought he had scored from a rebound off a free kick, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside after a nearly six-minute VAR review.

Atletico remained dangerous late in the game. Substitute Alex Baena raced through unmarked in the 86th minute but was brought down from behind by Joan Garcia. The referee initially gave a yellow card, then upgraded it to a straight red after consulting the pitchside monitor.

“It was crazy. Even more so against Barca,” Atletico defender Marcos Llorente said to Movistar Plus. “The team did everything right. We stuck together at the back, pressed high, broke up space really well. Everything went our way.”

The winner of the tie will face either Real Sociedad or Athletic Bilbao in the final. Real Sociedad currently lead 1-0 ahead of the second leg in San Sebastian on March 4.

-Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Christian Radnedge/Reuters