Atletico Madrid Thrash Barcelona 4-0 in Copa del Rey Semi-Final first leg.Atletico took the lead after seven minutes when Eric Garcia scored an own goal. Antoine Griezmann made it 2-0 after getting past Barcelona’s high defensive line. Ademola Lookman added the third goal after a team move, and Julian Alvarez scored the fourth before half-time, ending an 11-match run without a goal.
Barcelona had chances to score. Fermin Lopez hit the crossbar in the first half. In the second half, Pau Cubarsi found the net, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review for offside.“I want to have the reason why it was offside,” Flick told Movistar. “I don’t know what they saw.”Late in the game, Eric Garcia was sent off for a foul on Alex Baena after a misplaced pass from Ferran Torres left him under pressure.Atlético kept their 4-0 lead over the 32-time champions and will carry that advantage into the second leg at Camp Nou on March 3.“In the first 45 minutes we got a great lesson for us. Sometimes it’s good to get (that) in the right moment, maybe today is the right moment,” Flick told reporters. “The second half was much better and we have one game more and we will fight (to win) that.”Flick said Atletico’s players showed more desire and were more determined to win the match.“When you saw the the players from Atletico they have more will, they have more hunger to score goals, and this is what what I want from the beginning from the first first minute, and in the first 45 minutes we we didn’t show that,” lamented the German coach.Struggling in La Liga and not seen as strong contenders in the Champions League, the Copa del Rey is Atletico’s main chance to win a trophy this season.“I think our fans need these games, they’ve been coming for years, pushing, they’re always there, they need big matches,” said Simeone.“We had a great first half, reading the game very well, we were very efficient and calm in the final third.”In the other semi-final, Real Sociedad beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in their first leg.
