Who: Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
Content: Spanish Copa del Rey semi-final, second leg
Location: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Date and time: Tuesday, March 3rd, 9pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 17:30 GMT ahead of the live text commentary stream.
Barcelona suffered a humiliating defeat in the first leg of this match in Madrid and must find a way to overturn a four-goal deficit at the Camp Nou.
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Hansi Flick’s side can take some confidence in the fact that they are at the top of La Liga and are scoring goals freely.
They thrashed third-placed Villarreal 4-1 last weekend, and 18-year-old star Lamine Yamal enters the game with his first career hat-trick.
However, Diego Simeone’s Atlético side will be looking to back themselves up to thwart Barça, while also looking to exploit the hosts’ weaknesses on the counter.
Atlético arrived in Barcelona with a hard-fought 1-0 thrashing of Real Oviedo at the weekend, moving them into third place in the league, although they were still 13 points behind Barça.
What happened in the first leg?
Atlético Madrid ripped Barcelona apart with four first-half goals to secure a 4-0 victory, leaving Barcelona facing a huge comeback task in the second leg.
Atlético took the lead in the sixth minute after Barcelona defender Eric Garcia returned a routine pass to goalkeeper Joao Garcia. The goalkeeper scanned the field, slipped the ball under his boot, and sent it toward the goal. He tried to scramble back, but the ball went over the line.
Eight minutes later, 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.
In the 33rd minute, Giuliano Simeone ran down the right flank and delivered a low cross to Alvarez, who took a free look and fired into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.
Just before half-time, Lookman and Alvarez linked up again, the Nigerian forward slipping a pass into the middle and the Argentine firing a shot into the top corner from just inside the box.
Barcelona thought they had scored in the 52nd minute when Pau Kvarsi converted a free-kick rebound, but the shot was ruled offside after a lengthy VAR review lasting nearly six minutes.
The Catalans ultimately failed to find the back of the net and will need something close to a miracle to reach the final in Seville in April.
Who is in the other semifinal?
The winner of this draw will face either Real Sociedad or Athletic Bilbao in the final.
Real Sociedad hold a 1-0 advantage ahead of Wednesday’s second leg in San Sebastian.
Flick praises ‘extraordinary’ Yamal
According to Opta, Yamal becomes the youngest player to score a hat-trick in La Liga at the age of 18 years and 230 days.
His performance against Villarreal included a stunning solo effort for his second goal, cutting in from the right, beating a player and curling high into the top corner.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said: “He is an extraordinary person and he is here to make people happy.” “He needs goals to give him confidence. He is still young and still needs to develop, but we all know his quality.”
“The opponents put two or three players on him, so that makes it difficult. I was very happy with his performance today. When he enjoys his football, it’s perfect for him and for us.”
Simeone excited about ‘great’ Alvarez
Julián Álvarez scored in the 94th minute to lift Atletico Madrid to third place in La Liga on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over bottom-place Real Oviedo.
The Argentine striker scored his first league goal in almost four months, giving Diego Simeone’s side their only second win in five league games.
Coach Simeone praised Alvarez by name after the game.
“He is a very important player, he is recognized worldwide and many teams want him, but we have him. I hope he gives us everything he has, because he is a great football player,” he said.
“Our game went from less to more. We played well in the second half and Julien’s goal came at the end. It was good for him and for the team.”
direct confrontation
The two clubs have met 248 times, with Barça winning 113 times, Atlético winning 78 times and drawing 57 times.
The last time Atlético beat Barcelona away was in December 2024, when Alexander Sorloth scored a late goal for Atlético to seal a 2-1 win.
barcelona team news
Striker Robert Lewandowski is absent after sustaining a fractured orbit in the game against Villarreal, so Ferran Torres is expected to lead the team.
Eric Garcia was sent off in the first leg and will be suspended.
The club announced last week that midfielder Frenkie de Jong will be out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury. Center back Andreas Christensen is also out for an extended period with a torn cruciate ligament.
Midfielder Gabi has returned to training after being out injured since August, but is not expected to feature as he works to regain full fitness.
However, Raphinha, Pedri and Marcus Rashford missed the first leg but will be available for the match against Atletico at the Camp Nou.
Expected lineup:
João Garcia (goalkeeper); Kunde, Kvarsi, Martin, Balde. Pedri, Olmo. Yamal, López, Rafinha. Torres
Atletico Madrid team news
Johnny Cardoso will be sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained against Real Oviedo over the weekend.
Pablo Barrios is also out with a thigh injury and is not expected to return until mid-March.
Expected lineup:
Musso (goalkeeper); Ruggeri, Hanko, Pabil, Molina. Simeone, Koke, Llorente, Lookman. Alvarez, Sorros
