Barcelona: In a thrilling encounter, both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid came back from two goals down to finish in a dramatic 4-4 draw during the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
Atletico struck early, scoring twice within the first six minutes, but then conceded four consecutive goals before staging a comeback in the final ten minutes. Substitute Alexander Sorloth netted the equalizer just three minutes into stoppage time, as reported by the Spanish newspaper MARCA.
Barcelona initially found themselves trailing after Julián Álvarez and Antoine Griezmann scored for Atletico in the opening minutes. However, the hosts responded quickly, leveling the match by the 21st minute with goals from Pedri and Pau Cubarsí just two minutes apart. Iñigo Martínez then put Barcelona ahead 3-2 just before halftime, and Robert Lewandowski extended the lead in the 74th minute.
Atletico narrowed the gap with a goal from Marcos Llorente in the 84th minute, and Sorloth completed the comeback with a close-range finish.
The second leg is scheduled to take place at Atletico's Metropolitano Stadium in April 2025.
The winner of this tie will face either Real Madrid or Real Sociedad, who are set to play their first-leg match tonight in the Basque Country.
Barcelona last claimed the Copa del Rey title in 2021, while Atletico last won it in 2013.
In their previous encounter in December, Atletico had defeated Barcelona 2-1 in the Spanish league.
Prior to the semifinals, the Copa del Rey knockout rounds were conducted in a single-elimination format.
