Lamine Yamal leads Barcelona to Copa del Rey final over Atleti | OneFootball

With another performance from Lamine Yamal, Barcelona beat Atlético Madrid 1-0 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano to book their place in the final of the Copa del Rey, where they will face Real Madrid. The start of the match saw Atletico marking very aggressively, trying to prevent Barça from exploiting the spaces at the back of the defense, but Lamine Yamal was very prominent on the right and made Diego Simeone's strategy difficult. Another highlight for the visitors was Pedri's efficiency in finding links with Yamal. At one point, Barcelona's goal seemed a matter of time, and so it was during the first half, when Yamal hit a great pass behind the defense for Ferrán Torres to open the scoring.

As expected, Atletico improved a lot after the break and Sorloth came into the game very well, even having a clear opportunity to score when he received a ball from De Paul and was face to face with the goalkeeper, but his shot went just wide of the net. Barça, meanwhile, also relied on Fermín and Raphinha for dangerous attacking transitions. In the final stages, Atleti controlled their rivals with more possession and applied strong pressure, but Barcelona's defense managed to protect themselves well and secure the victory.

This result means that Barcelona and Real Madrid will once again be deciding a Copa del Rey title after 11 years, a sign that both clubs are becoming more dominant in Spanish soccer, managing to leave potential rivals such as Atleti, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad behind.

Ferran Torres' ability to decide games for Barcelona is outstanding

Atletico de Madrid v FC Barcelona - Copa del Rey | Image Photo Agency/GettyImages

Despite the focus on Lamine Yamal, we should also highlight the enormous talent of Ferran Torres. Of all the players in Europe's top five leagues who have scored ten or more goals this season in all competitions, Ferran Torres is the player who needs the fewest minutes to score (81). In other words, a supporting player who has taken on the role of a key player in 2024/25.