Barcelona saw their Copa del Rey title defence and hopes of a treble come to an end as their effort at a remarkable turnaround from the first leg defeat to Atletico Madrid fell short, with a 3-0 win at Camp Nou not enough.
The Blaugrana were blown away 4-0 by Diego Simeone’s men in the first leg in Madrid, leaving them need to produce a repeat of Barca’s Champions League heroics of 2017, when they beat Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 in the second leg to overturn a four-goal deficit and progress.
For a long time, it looked as if a repeat of ‘La Remontada’ was on the cards, with two goals from Marc Bernal, sandwiched by a Raphinha penalty, putting them on the cusp of forcing extra time.
Yet the final 18 minutes of normal time after Bernal’s second, plus the six minutes of additional time, did not yield the key goal for Barca, as Atleti clung on to set up a final with either Real Sociedad or Athletic Bilbao.
