Atlético Madrid pulled away from the holders with four first-half goals in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final.
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Published February 12, 2026
Atlético Madrid pulled away from Barcelona with four first-half goals in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final to win 4-0, but Holder was left staring at an almost impossible task in the return match.
Diego Simeone’s side took control after just 45 minutes at home on Thursday, capitalizing on some disastrous early mistakes to cut Hansi Flick’s side at will and push them to the brink of April’s final in Seville.
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Atlético took the lead in astonishing fashion in the 6th minute. Barcelona defender Eric Garcia returned the routine pass, but goalkeeper João Garcia was already scanning the field and allowed the ball to slip under his boot and head into the goal. His desperate dive was too late as he crossed the line.
Eight minutes later, they extended their lead to two points with a fluid move. Ademola Lookman collected a long ball on the left, fed Julian Alvarez, who switched to Nahuel Molina. The right-back slipped in a deft pass and Antoine Griezmann smoothly controlled the ball into the bottom corner.
The third goal in the 33rd minute was also from the counter. Giuliano Simeone ran down the right flank and delivered a low cross to Alvarez, who met a free looker and fired a shot into the bottom corner of the goal.
Manager Flick then brought on Robert Lewandowski in place of Marc Casado in the 37th minute. This change did little to stem the tide.
Instead, Atlético attacked again before half-time. Lookman and Alvarez linked up again and the Nigerian forward slipped a pass into the middle and the Argentine fired a shot into the top corner from just inside the box.
Atlético goalkeeper Juan Musso denied Fermín López a goal early in the second half as Barça searched for a lifeline ahead of their return match at Camp Nou on March 3.
Pau Kubalsi appeared to have scored a goal in the 52nd minute with a free-kick rebound, but the shot was ruled offside after a lengthy VAR review lasting nearly six minutes.
Atlético remained dangerous and almost added a fifth goal in the closing stages. Substitute Alex Baena was running through unmarked when Garcia brought him down from behind in the 86th minute. The referee initially showed a yellow card, but upgraded it to a straight red after consulting with the pitchside monitor.
“It was crazy, especially against Barça,” defender Marcos Llorente told Movistar Plus.
“The team did everything right. We stuck together at the back, we didn’t back down, we pressed high up the pitch and we broke down the spaces well. Everything went our way.”
The winner of the tie will face Real Sociedad or Athletic Bilbao in the final. Real Sociedad hold a 1-0 advantage ahead of the second leg in San Sebastian on March 4.
