"You must always have faith, Diego Simeone had said and so it was. A biblical storm blew through the Metropolitano, leaving Barcelona torn to pieces and Atletico Madrid closer to a first Copa del Rey final in 13 years than even he could ever have believed. Forty-five extraordinary minutes gave them a 4-0 lead to take to the second leg at Camp Nou in three weeks' time."
"The first foul, on 30 seconds, was a fuse lit. Giuliano Simeone flew into Alejandro Balde and his teammates followed, a wild and perfect storm unleashed that Barcelona could not escape. For 45 frantic, breathless minutes in which Hansi Flick's team didn't know which way to turn, Atletico Madrid tore into them, leaving nowhere to hide, no place to take shelter."
Atletico Madrid produced a devastating first half, leading Barcelona 4-0 at the break thanks to an own goal by Eric Garcia and strikes from Ademola Lookman, Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez. The home side overwhelmed Barcelona from kickoff, with a hard foul after 30 seconds from Giuliano Simeone setting the tone for relentless pressure and physical play. Barcelona struggled to respond, managing only a disallowed goal after a lengthy VAR review and finishing with Eric Garcia sent off. Atletico created numerous chances and should have scored more, leaving Barcelona facing a mountainous deficit to overturn in the second leg.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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