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Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona score, stats, talking points as Julian Alvarez stars in Copa del Rey 1st-leg rout

Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona score, stats, talking points as Julian Alvarez stars in Copa del Rey 1st-leg rout originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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Atletico Madrid and Barcelona lock horns in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal tie on Thursday.

The Catalans have enjoyed a dominant recent record against Atleti, winning eight of the past 10 meetings in all competitions. That includes both legs of the semifinals last season, when a remarkable 4-4 draw at Camp Nou was followed by a 1-0 win for Barca in the capital.

Hansi Flick's team are still targeting a quadruple after winning the Supercopa de Espana in January, while Atleti will be determined to keep alive their hopes of a first trophy since they were crowned La Liga champions in 2021.

MORE:Barcelona's up-to-date injury list

Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona

2nd HalfGoalscorers
Atletico Madrid4E. Garcia OG 7', Griezmann 14', Lookman 33', Alvarez 45+2'
Barcelona0

Location: Estadio Metropolitano (Madrid, Spain)
Referee: Juan Martinez Munuera

Starting lineups:

Atletico Madrid (4-4-2 right to left): Musso (GK) — Molina, Pubill, Hancko, Ruggeri — Simeone, Llorente, Koke, Lookman — Griezmann (Baena, 68'), Alvarez (Sorloth, 68')

Atletico subs: Oblak, Esquivel, Gimenez, Lenglet, Le Normand, Mendoza, Baena, Vargas, Nico, Sorloth, Almada

Barcelona (4-3-3 right to left): J. Garcia (GK) — Kounde, Cubarsi (Araujo, 77'), E. Garcia, Balde (Cancelo, 77') — De Jong, Casado (Lewandowski, 36'), Lopez (Martin, 87') — Lamine Yamal, Torres, Olmo

Barcelona subs: Szczesny, Kochen, Cancelo, Araujo, Martin, Jofre, Bernal, Tommy, Bardghji, Hernandez, Lewandowski

Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona highlights, key incidents

85 mins: ERIC GARCIA IS OFF! He slips a little and catches Alex Baena late with a powerful kick. The initial yellow card is upgraded to red after a review, and rightly so: Baena was through on goal, and it was a poor foul.

48 mins: BARCA GOAL DISALLOWED! After an EIGHT-minute VAR check, Pau Cubarsi's neat finish from inside the box is disallowed for an offside infringement by Robert Lewandowski.

45+2 mins: ATLETICO HAVE A FOURTH! WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE? Alvarez crashes a shot past Joan Garcia from the edge of the box to send the home fans into delirium. This has been an extraordinary half of football.

33 mins: IT'S 3-0! INCREDIBLE FROM ATLETICO! Another sublime counter involving the four forwards ends with Julian Alvarez playing a delicate pass to Lookman, who makes no mistake with a side-foot finish. Brilliant from Diego Simeone's team.

Watch (USA):

14 mins:GRIEZMANN MAKES IT 2-0! It's a terrific counter-attacking move that ends with Griezmann placing a low finish beyond Joan Garcia from inside the box. Atleti have taken early control here.

Watch (USA):

7 mins: GOAL! ATLETICO LEAD! It's an awful mistake from Joan Garcia, who seems to take his eye off the ball and allows Eric Garcia's pass to roll towards goal and over the line. The referee doesn't signal a goal, and Ademola Lookman puts the ball in the net anyway, but that will go down as an own goal from Eric Garcia.

Watch (USA):

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Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona reaction

This section will be updated when match reaction is available.

Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona team news

Atletico Madrid team news

  • Pablo Barrios is out with a muscle injury, while Johnny Cardoso is not in the squad after sitting out the loss to Real Betis last time out due to a minor issue.
  • Nico Gonzalez is available and on the bench. Copa goalkeeper Juan Musso starts, while Diego Simeone is fielding a very attack-minded lineup featuring Antoine GriezmannJulian AlvarezAdemola Lookman and Giuliano Simeone.

Barcelona team news

  • Raphinha and Marcus Rashford are both sidelined due to injury, so Hansi Flick has had some thinking to do regarding the left side of his attack. Dani Olmo looks set to fill that role, with Fermin Lopez deeper as part of the midfield trio along with Marc Casado and Frenkie de Jong.

Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona upcoming schedules

Atletico Madrid upcoming fixtures

DateCompetitionMatchLocation
Sun, Feb. 15La LigaRayo Vallecano vs. AtleticoEstadio de Vallecas
Wed, Feb. 18Champions League (KO playoff 1st leg)Club Brugge vs. AtleticoJan Breydel Stadium
Sat, Feb. 21La LigaAtletico vs. EspanyolEstadio Metropolitano

Barcelona upcoming fixtures

DateCompetitionMatchLocation
Mon, Feb. 16La LigaGirona vs. BarcelonaEstadio Montilivi
Sun, Feb. 22La LigaBarcelona vs. LevanteCamp Nou
Sat, Feb. 28La LigaBarcelona vs. VillarrealCamp Nou

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