MADRID (AP) — Barcelona lost 4-0 to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Thursday, unable to recover from a disastrous first-half goaltending failure.
Barcelona gave Atlético an unexpected early gift when goalkeeper João Garcia slipped the ball under his feet after a backpass from defender Eric Garcia, and Atlético led the Catalan club 4-0 at half-time.
As well as Eric Garcia’s own goal, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookmann and Julián Alvarez also scored for the home side against Hansi Flick’s side.
To make matters worse for defending champions Barcelona, Garcia was sent off in the 85th minute with a straight red card for blocking a breakaway.
Barcelona, who are top of the Spanish league, had Pau Kvarsi’s goal ruled out for offside early in the second half.
With this result, Atlético are close to reaching the Copa final for the first time since winning their 10th title in the 2012-13 season.
Barcelona, who have won the Copa a total of 32 times, defeated Real Madrid in last year’s final.
Start of route
The rout began when Joao Garcia tried to control an innocuous-looking pass from Eric Garcia, but the ball ended up under his feet outside the six-yard box.
Garcia ran and dived to keep the ball from crossing the line, but couldn’t make it in time. He slapped the ball back into play and Lookman sent it into the net, but the ball had crossed the line first.
The blunder occurred seven minutes into the match at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Griezmann gave Atlético a 2-0 lead in the 14th minute with a goal from inside the area, then added a third goal in the 33rd minute with a well-constructed breakthrough from Lookman, and Alvarez scored the fourth goal in first-half stoppage time with a solid shot from another breakthrough.
Atlético had more chances in the second half.
In the other semi-final on Wednesday, Real Sociedad beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0.
The second leg will take place in March. The final will be held in Seville in April.
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