In the early hours of April 3, Yamal helped Barca defeat Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals, following a dramatic 4-4 draw in the first leg.
Barcelona continues to affirm its dominance in Copa del Rey history by reaching the final for the 43rd time. The Catalan club also leads in titles won, with an impressive 31 championships.
Meanwhile, “Los Rojiblancos” are facing a trophyless season, having been eliminated from both the Champions League and Copa del Rey. In La Liga, they trail Barca by 9 points.
Hansi Flick’s team will face Real Madrid in the final. This marks the first time in 11 years that the two La Liga giants will meet in the Copa del Rey final. The championship showdown is set to take place on April 26 in Seville.
Atletico Madrid’s Title Hopes Crushed by Barcelona
Atletico Madrid’s hopes of winning a title were shattered by two consecutive defeats against Barcelona.
Unlike their explosive first-leg performance, Atletico Madrid was completely outplayed at home. In the first half, Diego Simeone’s squad had only 31% possession and allowed Barcelona to fire 10 shots on goal.
Lamine Yamal was a constant threat down Atletico’s right flank before making a decisive impact with a brilliant through ball that split the defense, setting up Ferran Torres to open the scoring in the 25th minute.
Atletico Madrid managed only one significant chance in the first half—a header from Robin Le Normand in the 34th minute, which went wide of the target.
In the second half, Atletico Madrid pushed forward aggressively. Alexander Sorloth came on and troubled Barcelona’s defense with his intelligent movement. In the 52nd minute, the Norwegian striker squandered a golden opportunity in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. In the 69th minute, Sorloth thought he had equalized and celebrated wildly, but semi-automated offside technology ruled the goal out, silencing the home crowd.
After escaping that scare, Barcelona regained control and dominated possession in midfield. Atletico Madrid failed to create any more clear-cut chances and had to accept defeat on their home turf.
