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E-mail Xinhua, February 26, 2025
FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid played out a thrilling 4-4 draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal at Montjuic on Tuesday night, featuring a dramatic back-and-forth scoring spree that kept fans on the edge of their seats.
Frenkie de Jong (L) of FC Barcelona vies with Julian Alvarez (C) of Atletico de Madrid during the Copa del Rey semifinal 1st leg football match between FC Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)
Atletico took the lead after just 50 seconds when Antoine Griezmann's corner was flicked on for Julian Alvarez, who calmly slotted the ball home at the far post. Alvarez then turned provider in the eighth minute, slipping the ball to Griezmann, who capitalized on Barcelona's high defensive line to turn inside and score with his right foot.
The only fans in Montjuic making any noise were wearing Atletico shirts, but Barca should have been back into the game soon afterwards, only for Ferran Torres to fail to beat Juan Musso in the Atletico goal.
However, Barca found their rhythm as Pedri gave them a lifeline in the 19th minute, neatly finishing after brilliant work from Lamine Yamal and Jules Kounde. Just a minute later, Pau Cubarsi outjumped Pablo Barrios to nod in from a corner and level the match.
Ferran missed another opportunity, but Inigo Martinez then put Barcelona ahead by sneaking in unmarked to finish off another inswinging corner that Atletico failed to clear.
Atletico responded in the second half, looking to regain momentum, but in the 74th minute, Robert Lewandowski tapped in after a superb setup from Yamal, seemingly putting Barca in control.
Angel Correa gave Atletico more spark in attack and with seven minutes left, he pulled the ball back for Llorente to run onto a score with a powerful shot that took a slight deflection.
There were two minutes left when the game was halted as two children invaded the pitch, and Alexander Sorloth made it 4-4 soon afterwards following excellent work from Samuel Lino as Atletico's substitutions worked well, although Barcelona will be annoyed at losing concentration so late in the game.
