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.
Barcelona make fast start
Barcelona unsurprisingly started fast, with Fermin Lopez denied by Juan Musso, who came to his side’s aid again to thwart Ferran Torres after Raphinha had fired into the side-netting.
Antoine Griezmann wasted a clear chance at the other end when he shot straight at Joan Garcia, and Atletico were punished for his profligacy by Bernal, whose opener came after a stunning assist from Lamine Yamal.
After Musso had again frustrated Torres, Yamal gained possession on the left hand side of the area following the resulting corner. He had two defenders for company, but stunningly twisted his way past them before squaring for Bernal to tap in.
Raphinha then went close with a far-post header, but Ademola Lookman was guilty of a far more egregious miss for Atleti as he skewed a header wide from Marcos Llorente’s excellent right-wing cross.
Again, Atletico paid the price as Pedri was felled in the penalty area by Marc Pubill, allowing Raphinha to step up and send Musso the wrong way, Barca doubling their lead on the stroke of half-time.
Remontada bid falls short
Musso made two more huge saves early in the second half to keep out efforts from Joao Cancelo and Bernal, though he could do nothing to prevent the latter from doubling his tally from the former’s deep cross.
Replays suggested Bernal had come back from an offside position, but the goal was allowed to stand.
Yet Atletico’s rearguard action proved more effective thereafter and, though Bernal curled a chance for a hat-trick to force extra-time over the crossbar, Musso’s goal was largely untroubled as Barca saw their valiant push to complete the comeback and keep their treble hopes alive end in disappointment.
Atletico near end to 13-year wait
Atletico have not won the Copa since doing so in the 2012-13 season, a year before they stunned LaLiga by breaking Barca and Real Madrid’s duopoly on the title.
But, after surviving the Barca onslaught, they will now be the favourites to lift the trophy.
Sociedad hold a narrow 1-0 lead over their Basque rivals following the first leg at San Mames. However, with the two sides level on points in LaLiga, the tie can very much be considered in the balance.
Atletico, who are third in LaLiga, will be expected to prevail regardless of which side comes through the second semi-final.
Barcelona will face Athletic on Saturday as they aim to increase their four-point lead over Madrid at the top of LaLiga, before travelling to Newcastle United for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie next Tuesday.
