Atlético Madrid 4-0 Barcelona: Horror start and VAR chaos gives Barça mountain to climb in Copa del Rey | OneFootball

Atlético Madrid claimed a 4-0 win against Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final, with the visitors suffering a nightmare start and seeing a second-half strike denied by a lengthy VAR check.

The blaugrana shipped two goals inside the opening 15 minutes at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, with Eric Garcia’s loose pass catching Joan Garcia off-guard before Antoine Griezmann finished off a well-worked move.

Atléti extended that lead to four goals before the break, with Ademola Lookman burying a composed finish before Julian Álvarez ended his goal drought in stoppage time.

Barça started well after the interval but their momentum was killed by an eight-minute VAR check that ruled off a Pau Cubarsí strike for a marginal offside, and they crumbled further late on when Eric Garcia saw red for a rash challenge.

As it happened

Atlético Madrid wasted no time in testing the Barça defence at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, forcing an excellent save from Joan Garcia with just three minutes on the clock.

But the former Espanyol goalkeeper had a moment to forget soon after when he failed to stop Eric Garcia’s pass, allowing it to roll under his foot and over the line.

And yet that was just the start of a horrific first half for the blaugrana, who found themselves trailing by two goals when Antoine Griezmann arrived in the box and picked out the bottom left corner after a well-placed pass from Nahuel Molina.

The chances kept coming for Diego Simeone’s men, who saw Griezmann shoot into the arms of Garcia and Julian Álvarez force a goalline clearance from Jules Koundé as they continued the hunt for their third of the night.

But they didn’t have to wait long for it, with Ademola Lookman arriving in the box from the left to finish off a well-worked passage of play kicked off by Giuliano Simeone on the opposite flank.

Hansi Flick had seen enough and withdrew Marc Casadó, bringing Robert Lewandowski in as part of a wider tactical change that saw Ferran Torres shift to the left flank and Fermín Lopez drop deeper into midfield.

Barça looked set to be chasing a three-goal deficit in the second half until Álvarez – who had not scored since 9 December – found his way onto the scoresheet in the dying seconds of stoppage time, latching onto Lookman’s cutback.

Flick’s team talk seemed to stir a sense of urgency into his men, who tested Juan Musso mere minutes into the half before an eight-minute VAR check killed their momentum.

Pau Cubarsí rippled the back of the net from close range after Fermín’s strike from the edge of the area caused pinball inside the box – but a lengthy review, accurately described by The Athletic’s Pol Ballús as ‘the biggest VAR shit show I’ve ever witnessed’, highlighted a fractional offside that saw the goal chalked off.

Atléti quickly seized back the momentum and sought out their fifth goal of the night through Matteo Ruggeri, though the full-back’s effort was tipped over the bar by Joan Garcia.

Barça did not help themselves and were reduced to ten men in the 84th minute after Eric Garcia’s rash challenge on Alex Baena, who was through on goal before being kicked down by the 25-year-old defender, who saw his initial yellow card upgraded to a straight red after a VAR check.

Atléti came close to capitalising on that newfound advantage when Molina’s low ball across the face of goal evaded the Barça goalkeeper, although substitute Alexander Sorloth sent his effort waywards.

The hosts take a well-earned four-goal lead into next month’s second leg after a chaotic evening in the Spanish capital.

Analysis: Problems pile up for Barça who now have mountain to climb

Barcelona now look to overturn a four-goal deficit at the Spotify Camp Nou on Tuesday 3 March – but it could have been much worse for Hansi Flick’s men.

Thursday’s hosts were ruthless throughout the first half and could feasibly have scored more, had Antoine Griezmann and Julian Álvarez been a little more clinical with their chances when Atléti were chasing their third goal of the night.

Diego Simeone’s men had identified the flanks as a weak spot in a Barcelona side that has been in fine form this season, scoring 99 goals across all competitions and sitting pretty at the top of LaLiga.

Alejandro Baldé and Eric García were noticeably struggling to keep Giuliano Simeone at bay on the left side of the Barça defence, while Ademola Lookman – who previously spent time in England with Everton, Fulham and Leicester – ran riot on the opposite side of the pitch.

A weakened midfield, forced in part by injuries to Pedri and Gavi, couldn’t afford to sit back too much without sacrificing Barça’s chances of clawing one back – and so bad quickly turned to worse for the Blaugrana.

They improved after the break but that eight-minute VAR check absorbed any momentum they had mustered. After only having themselves to blame for their woeful first half, anger directed at the officiating served to further complicate their mindset as they chased a four-goal deficit.

There are just under three weeks until they host Atléti in the return fixture, in a match that promises to serve up a spectacle.