‘It’s a terrible result’

Barcelona midfielder Pedri laments his team’s late capitulation against Atletico Madrid leading to 4-4 draw in Copa del Rey semi-final first leg

Atletico Madrid conceded a two-goal lead then fought back from two down in a wild 4-4 draw with Barcelona in a Copa del Rey semi-final first leg thriller on Tuesday. After Diego Simeone’s side scored twice in the opening six minutes through Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann, Barca raced through the gears in a high-octane performance. The superb Pedri Gonzalez pulled one back with Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez and Robert Lewandowski going on to score for the Catalan giants. 

Marcos Llorente then netted for Atletico before Alexander Sorloth struck in the 93rd minute to leave the tie perfectly poised ahead of the second leg at the Metropolitano stadium on April 2. 

Following the roller-coaster game, Barcelona midfielder Pedri lamented his team’s inability to hold onto their lead. “It’s a terrible result when you go 4-2 up... you have to be more careful, these are things we have to learn,” Pedri told Movistar. “When we got in front we have to be calmer... it will be a difficult [second leg] but we will go there to try and win,’ he added.

Simeone hails team spirit

Simeone, meanwhile, hailed his team’s grit, with his substitutes playing a key role as they have done so many times this season. “We had an enormous competitive spirit. The changes freshened up the team, it wasn’t an easy game to play, and I love the spirit the lads showed,” the Atletico coach said.

Atletico took the lead inside the first minute, with Alvarez scoring at the back post after Griezmann’s cross was flicked on. Atletico doubled their lead in the sixth minute when Jules Kounde gave the ball away and Alvarez produced a stunning pass to release Griezmann. The French forward was being pressured by Alejandro Balde but cleverly worked room for a shot, which Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny got a hand to but could not keep out.

After Atletico’s opening salvo, Barcelona dominated the rest of the first half. The La Liga leaders hit two goals in two minutes to pull back level, with Kounde setting up Pedri for the first before Cubarsi nodded home from a corner. Sorloth had a goal disallowed for offside as the visitors sought an equaliser, but instead it was Barca who moved further ahead. Teen winger Lamine Yamal created it with a brilliant dribble, blazing past Reinildo Mandava before squaring for substitute Lewandowski to score. 

Barcelona’s performance merited their lead but Llorente’s 84th minute strike from the edge of the box opened the door for Sorloth to net late on. The Norwegian forward grabbed Atletico a last-gasp victory at Barca’s Olympic stadium in December in La Liga and he was in the right place at the right time once more to finish from Samuel Lino’s cut-back.

Flick’s mixed emotions 

Barcelona coach Flick was pleased with his team’s display but not the final score. “We are really disappointed about the result, but the game we played today was really great, I focus more on this,” Flick told reporters. “We have to speak about the goals, it was maybe too easy [for Atletico], but we played against a fantastic team. We dominated for 75 to 80 minutes.”

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