🎥 Lookman stunner, Simeone v Yamal, Flick fuming: Atlético-Barça chaos | OneFootball

Quasi historic debacle for Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. At the Metropolitano, Atlético Madrid crushed the blaugrana with a decisive 4-0, seriously complicating Flick's team's path to the final. The Colchoneros highlighted all the limitations of the Spanish champions, including the very high defense already exposed against Inter in the Champions League last year.

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Atlético dominated from the start: a spectacular miss by Joan Garcia allowed the hosts to unlock the match after just 6 minutes, leading to a nightmare evening for the Catalans, unable to react and often at the mercy of the pace set by Simeone and his team.

Among the standout performers was Ademola Lookman, who delivered a decisive performance with a goal and an assist. A monstrous impact by the former Atalanta player on the colchonero world, with two goals and two assists in his first three appearances. The other two goals were scored by Griezmann and Julián Álvarez, who took advantage of yet another counterattack to seal the final blow.

💥 Simeone, what SPARKS with Lamine Yamal

During the match, as if the tension between the two teams wasn't already at its peak, Cholo Simeone further ignited the atmosphere.

The Atlético coach, in fact, symbolically showed three fingers to Yamal after his team scored the third goal. The gesture, as expected, sparked reactions and debates on social media and in the Spanish press, as well as angering the entire blaugrana environment.

Perhaps because of this, but certainly not only, Barça protested against some refereeing decisions. In particular, when a goal by Cubarsí—which could have made the deficit less severe for the return leg—was disallowed after a long VAR review, triggering the anger of the entire Barcelona team. Moreover, according to Spanish media, the club is even considering the possibility of filing an official complaint with the football federation.

Assessment and prospects for the return leg

The return leg, scheduled for March 3rd at Camp Nou, will be unmissable. True, Atlético has a huge advantage, but with Barcelona, never say never.

At stake is a spot in the final in Seville, where the winner will face either Real Sociedad or Athletic Bilbao.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 OSCAR DEL POZO - AFP or licensors