In the second leg of the Spanish Cup semi-final, Barcelona hosted Atletico Madrid and secured a convincing 3-0 victory. However, this victory was not enough for the Catalans to advance to the final - after two games, with a total score of 4:3, it was the Madrid team that advanced to the decisive stage.
Barcelona put significant pressure on their opponents in the first half. The score opened in the 29th minute with a goal from Marc Bernal. In extra time of the first half, Rafinha converted a penalty, further strengthening the hosts' advantage. In the second half, in the 72nd minute, Bernal once again made his mark, scoring a brace to make the score 3-0.
Copa del Rey
Semi-final. Response game
Barcelona - Atletico Madrid 3:0
Goals: Bernal 29, 72, Rafinha 45+5.
Barcelona - H. Garcia, Cancelo, Cubarsi, Bernal, Kunde (Balde, 13, Araujo, 71), Pedri, Gérard Martin, Fermin (Rashford, 64), Ferran (Almo, 64), Rafinha, Yamal.
Atletico Madrid: Mousso, Ruggieri, Llorente, Hanko, Pubil, Koke (Syorlot, 58'), Johnny, Simeone (Himenez, 76'), Griezmann, Alvarez (A.Baena, 69'), Lukman (Molina, 58').
Yellow cards: Olmo 66, Cancelo 67.
Thus, Hans-Dieter Flick's team won on the field, but a major failure in the first match ruined the entire plan. As a reminder, Atletico Madrid won their first match in Madrid 4-0. Therefore, Barcelona needed at least a four-point lead to reach the final. The Catalans came very close to a comeback but missed one goal.
Throughout the match, Barcelona held the initiative, attacking heavily and creating dangerous chances in front of the opponent's goal. However, Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso kept his team in the game with several crucial saves. As a result, despite being under heavy pressure, the Madrid side maintained an overall lead and did not lose their final ticket.
In short, this game gave fans two different emotions: on one hand, Barcelona's strong will and beautiful victory, and on the other hand, Atletico Madrid's cool performance in a two-legged draw. On the field, the winner of the evening was Barcelona, but the true winner of the semi-final and the first participant in the final was Atletico Madrid.
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