Barcelona and Atletico Madrid put on a game-of-the-season contender on Tuesday as the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie ended in a 4-4 draw.
A dream start to proceedings for Atletico saw Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann both score inside just six minutes, with the two forwards assisting each other as some inside the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys started to fear the worst.
It took Barcelona just 15 minutes to tie things up, however. Pedri pulled one back before Pau Cubarsi headed home from a Raphinha corner to drag themselves level and give everyone the chance to catch their breath.
As the first half came to a close, Barcelona pulled the same trick out the bag as another corner from Raphinha was this time met by Inigo Martinez, whose header completed a dramatic first-half comeback for Hansi Flick's side.
Alexander Sorloth thought he had equalised with 20 minutes to go before the offside flag spoiled his celebrations, and Atletico's misery was quickly compounded when Robert Lewandowski tapped home from close range.
However, it was Atletico's turn for a comeback. Marcos Llorente crashed home from the edge of the box with six minutes remaining, before Sorloth bundled home a counter-attack to send the two teams into the return fixture level.
Barcelona player ratings (4-2-3-1)
Player | Rating |
|---|---|
GK: Wojciech Szczesny | 5.2/10 |
RB: Jules Kounde | 6.5/10 |
CB: Pau Cubarsi | 7.5/10 |
CB: Inigo Martinez | 7.3/10 |
LB: Alejandro Balde | 6.2/10 |
DM: Frenkie de Jong | 7.0/10 |
DM: Pedri | 8.5/10 |
RM: Lamine Yamal | 7.8/10 |
AM: Dani Olmo | 6.0/10 |
LM: Raphinha | 8.9/10 |
ST: Ferran Torres | 6.9/10 |
SUB: Robert Lewandowski (68' for Ferran) | 6.4/10 |
SUB: Gavi (68' for Olmo) | 7.0/10 |
SUB: Fermin Lopez (85' for Raphinha) | N/A |
SUB: Eric Garcia (85' for Pedri) | N/A |
Subs not used: Diego Kochen (GK), Inaki Pena (GK), Gerard Martin, Hector Fort, Ronald Araujo, Marc Casado, Pau Victor
Atletico Madrid player ratings (5-4-1)
Player | Rating |
|---|---|
GK: Juan Musso | 6.3/10 |
RB: Giuliano Simeone | 6.9/10 |
CB: Marcos Llorente | 6.8/10 |
CB: Jose Gimenez | 6.8/10 |
CB: Clement Lenglet | 6.6/10 |
LB: Javi Galan | 6.0/10 |
RM: Antoine Griezmann | 7.8/10 |
CM: Rodrigo De Paul | 7.0/10 |
CM: Pablo Barrios | 7.3/10 |
LM: Conor Gallagher | 6.7/10 |
ST: Julian Alvarez | 8.6/10 |
SUB: Samuel Lino (55' for Simeone) | 6.0/10 |
SUB: Reinildo (55' for Galan) | 6.9/10 |
SUB: Nahuel Molina (60' for Gallagher) | 6.0/10 |
SUB: Alexander Sorloth (68' for Griezmann) | 7.6/10 |
SUB: Angel Correa (68' for De Paul) | 6.7/10 |
Subs not used: Antonio Gomis (GK), Jan Oblak (GK), Axel Witsel, Robin Le Normand, Rodrigo Riquelme, Thomas Lemar
Player of the match - Raphinha (Barcelona)
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