How Barcelona Dominated Atletico Madrid in a Lopsided Copa del Rey Semi-Final

As Atletico Madrid prepared to face Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, Los Colchoneros may have been optimistic about reaching the final to take on their rivals, Real Madrid.

Even though Atletico had gone five games without a win and were defeated by Barcelona in their recent home game (2-4 on March 16 in LaLiga), they hadn’t suffered back-to-back losses at the Metropolitano since December 2021 (0-1 to Milan in the Champions League and 1-2 to Mallorca in LaLiga).

Diego Simeone’s team clearly had the potential to secure the result they needed, but they were aware that to advance, they would have to tame Barcelona’s formidable attack.

Prior to Wednesday’s clash, Barcelona had netted an impressive 139 goals across all competitions, significantly outscoring any other team in Europe’s top five leagues by at least 20 goals.

Moreover, Barcelona had not lost any of their last 12 away encounters (W9 D3), boasting an average of 3.16 goals per match in that span. They also had the upper hand over Simeone, having triumphed against him the most times in all competitions (G39 W21 D12 L6), including victories in their last three visits to the Metropolitano.

Barcelona Outplay Atleti

Following a thrilling 4-4 stalemate in the first leg, where eight players scored, expectations were high for another thrilling matchup. True to form, the second leg was a riveting spectacle, captivating fans from start to finish.

A fiery beginning saw a rare moment where the match official consulted VAR but ultimately maintained his initial yellow card decision. José Luis Munuera Montero conveyed his thoughts to VAR regarding a challenge by César Azpilicueta on Raphinha, stating, “I want to see the full impact, please. From my perspective, it’s not full. He collides with him from the side. Give me another angle, I need to see it better. He hits him not fully, laterally. I’m staying with the yellow card, Juan.”

The awarding of three yellow cards to Atleti within the first 12 minutes (for Azpilicueta, Rodrigo de Paul, and Diego Simeone) indicated their willingness to engage in physical play. However, Barcelona also adopted some robust tactics and registered 10 fouls in the first half, exceeding their season average.

Notably, the visitors managed to win 10 out of 12 tackles compared to Atleti’s seven out of 13, reflecting that Barcelona had begun to best the hosts at their own physical game while showcasing superior skill on the ball.

Incredibly, Barcelona dominated possession, holding 72.3% of the ball in the first 15 minutes leading up to the half-hour mark (and 56.7% overall), against a typically cohesive Atleti side. The aggressive high line employed by Hansi Flick’s men restricted the home side’s ability to establish their usual rhythm during the first half.

Once Ferran Torres struck to give Barcelona the lead after 26 minutes, it spelled trouble for Simeone’s men, given Barcelona’s record of W3, D0, L0 whenever they scored first in the Copa del Rey this season.

Atleti would have been acutely aware of their struggles in recent Copa del Rey matches; they hadn’t won any of their last eight encounters after conceding first since defeating Reus Deportiu on December 1, 2015.

That goal for Torres marked his fifth in this year’s competition, making him the highest scorer, and validating his selection over Robert Lewandowski.

This also accounted for Barcelona’s 12th first-half goal in five Copa del Rey fixtures this season, while Atleti had conceded four first-half goals—both tallies marking the highest for either club in their respective cup campaigns.

Lamine Yamal Shines Again

Lamine Yamal continues to impress despite his young age, contributing yet again at the Metropolitano. His assist to Ferran was his third in the Spanish cup for the 2024/25 season and added to his record of contributions—three goals and three assists in his last five cup games.

Whether in defence or attack, Barcelona prevented Atleti from building any momentum, leaving the usually efficient Marcos Llorente with a mere nine touches of the ball before half-time.

By the end of the match, Llorente had only managed 51 touches, with a pass completion rate of 86.2%, ranking fifth among his teammates in terms of performance that night. However, he managed just a single touch in the opposition box, which is disappointing for a player known for charging forward into dangerous spaces.

Julian Alvarez led Atleti in touches within Barcelona’s penalty area with three, encapsulating the overall narrative of the match.

Barcelona’s players consistently put pressure on their hosts, making life difficult whenever they regained possession.

Atleti managed only four successful dribbles out of 12 attempts that evening, which would have disappointed fans hoping for their team to advance to the final. Additionally, the home side’s shooting was so inaccurate that they failed to register a single shot on target, a situation not seen since the 2014/2015 Copa del Rey.

Barcelona, on the other hand, found the net in their last eight Spanish cup encounters, their longest streak since scoring in that number of matches from 3 March 2021 to 2 March 2023.

Interestingly, both teams recorded their least number of total shots in this encounter, with Atleti managing only six, while Barcelona accumulated 15 (with nine of those taken by Lamine Yamal (4) and Raphinha (5)).

This latest victory extends Barcelona’s unbeaten run in 2025, while Atleti, who had previously lost only once in 26 competitive matches, have now failed to win in six consecutive games, losing five.

As a side note, it’s worth considering when was the last time one semi-final first leg ended 4-4, only for the second leg to end 1-0—while the other semi-final (Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad) featured a 1-0 win in the first leg and a 4-4 draw in the return leg?!