BARCELONA — Atletico Madrid clawed back from two goals down to rescue a 4-4 draw at Barcelona in a rip-roaring battle in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Tuesday.
Atletico stunned the home side early on, taking a two-goal lead with Julian Alvarez opening the scoring inside the first minute and Antoine Griezmann extending their advantage five minutes later.
Barcelona vs Atletico highlights
JULIAN ALVAREZ GIVES ATLETICO MADRID THE LEAD IN THE FIRST MINUTE VS. BARCELONA!!
WHAT A START TO THE COPA DEL REY SEMIFINAL pic.twitter.com/sdeg9jkNUk— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 25, 2025
ANTOINE GRIEZMANN MAKES IT 2-0 ATLETI INSIDE SIX MINUTES AGAINST BARCELONA pic.twitter.com/1aI3sMvXAq
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 25, 2025
However, Barcelona fought back with goals by Pedri in the 19th minute and Pau Cubarsi in the 21st, before taking the lead through Inigo Martinez's header from a corner in the 41st minute.
PEDRI MAKES IT 1-2 AND THEN CUBARSI SCORES HIS FIRST-EVER BARCA GOAL MINUTES LATER TO MAKE IT 2-2!
THIS GAME IS RIDICULOUS pic.twitter.com/QgmHLUKRy0— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 25, 2025
IÑIGO MARTÍNEZ GIVES BARCELONA THEIR FIRST LEAD OF THE GAME!!!
FROM 0-2 DOWN TO NOW 3-2 UP AGAINST ATLETICO MADRID!UNREAL pic.twitter.com/fnc8zXspRp
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 25, 2025
Barca took control of proceedings and Robert Lewandowski made it 4-2 with a tap-in from close range after great individual work by Lamine Yamal in the 74th minute.
LAMINE YAMAL WITH A SPECIAL SKILL AND ASSIST TO SET UP A TAP IN FOR LEWANDOWSKI pic.twitter.com/2xiD7On3YP
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 25, 2025
But if Barca's fans were confident of taking a two-goal advantage into the second leg, Atletico had other ideas.
They struck back through Marcos Llorente in the 84th minute and another goal on the counter by Alexander Sorloth in the third minute of stoppage time left it all square ahead of the return encounter in the Spanish capital on April 2.
Barcelona vs Atletico full highlights
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, Editing by Toby Davis)
