It Just Wasn’t Enough: Despite the 3-0 Scoreline, Atletico Madrid hold out against Barcelona and Head into the Copa del Rey Final

Despite the impressive performance and goals, the Barcelona side were just unable to score enough goals to push Atletico Madrid out of their spot in the final, the semi-finals ending 3-4 on aggregate.

(Image credits to Barca Blaugranes)

Going into the game, Atletico Madrid looked to have all but guaranteed their spot in the Copa del Rey final after an unexpected 4-0 victory against Barcelona while at home. For the second leg, however, it would be Barcelona playing at home, so success was made that much more difficult for Atleti. In the build-up to the game, Hansi Flick, after the previous game away from home, had high hopes for the second leg for his team, as the BBC reported:

“We are four goals behind and we have to make the impossible possible. That is the objective. It’s not easy. However, we will not give up.

"It is important to keep a clean sheet, but we must believe in our strength and that we can achieve it ... You must always believe. For example, in each half we need to score two goals.”

“We have to be smart. We must press them, win the duels and make things difficult for them. We cannot lose possession, as they are very dangerous in transitions.”

Diego Simeone knows just how much of a threat Barcelona are, especially when facing them in La Liga. Despite their goal advantage, Simeone’s side have their work cut out for them to maintain their advantage and secure their place in the final, again taken from BBC Sports:

"We're thinking ‌about the match ahead of us, against a very ​good opponent, who are attacking, open and play as a team, making them one ​of the most competitive sides in La Liga and in Europe.

He also had a lot to say about the talented player that is Lamine Yamal:

“He’s an individually very good player, especially unpredictable in the final stages of the game.

“We’ll have to take advantage of the opportunity he gives us in attack to attack down that side, so we have to force him into the position where he feels most uncomfortable, which is defending.”

Upon kick-off, Atletico Madrid deployed their most well-known tactic; a purely defensive strategy, also known as “parking the bus.” As much as Barcelona were looking for a breakthrough, Atletico were still taking their own chances, as the likes of Antoine Grizmann aimed for the goal but were denied. The big breakthrough for Barcelona came in the 29th minute from a well-placed cross by Yamal into the box for Marc Bernal to fire home into the roof of the net with ease. With a lot of work still to do, Barcelona charged on as the crowd began to fill with more noise for the home side. Despite all the chances that Barcelona had, they were either met by clearances, blocks or went wide. This one goal did not set Atletico Madrid back, though, as Grizmann hit the woodwork in the 43rd minute after a stunning strike. Though offside, it meant that Atleti were still attempting to hold onto and further their advantage against Barca. In the third minute of stoppage time, Ademola Lookman had a massive chance after Marcos Llorente fed the ball into the centre of the box, but the header ran just wide. Almost simultaneously, Pedri went down in the box, and after appeals from Barcelona, Raphinha stepped up to the plate and delivered a comfortable penalty into the bottom left corner. All looked to be going according to Hansi Flick’s plan of 2 goals each half.

(Image credits to BBC Sport - Getty Images)

It seemed like the half-time break made no real difference to Barcelona and their performance, as they came back out fighting the exact same way. This did not mean Atleti just stood by and let Barcelona keep trying to score, though. While their tactics rested on their defensive line, Alvarez - in the 50th minute - still went for a goal himself. Simeone brought on Alexander Sorloth and Nahuel Molina for Koke and Lookman as his side readied itself for the last 30 minutes of the game. Barcelona’s next chance for a comeback came in the 73rd minute from Joao Canelo’s build-up, sending a whipping ball into the box that Marc Bernal flicked home within close range to send Barcelona 3-0 up at home; but they still needed to find one more goal. Despite the efforts of Barcelona to find that aggregate equaliser to send the game through to extra time, they just could not do it, much to the delight of Atletico Madrid fans and manager Simeone.

(Image credits to Into the Calderon)

Even given the scoreline, Barcelona Captain Raphina took away the positives from this kind of game. He spoke to Movistar Plus, according to China Daily:

“A game like this makes you feel really proud of your team.

“If we continue playing like this, ⁠we'll have ​a spectacular end to the season. I'm sure the fans ​are proud too, as demonstrated by what happened at the end of the match. We also know that we're up ​against a team that defends its own.”

Atletico Madrid’s keeper for the night, Juan Musso, kept his team grounded and prevented them from losing their place in the Copa del Rey final. He also spoke to Movistar Plus about his thoughts regarding the game and advancing to the final:

“We're in ​the final, that's what matters.

“We knew it ​could be difficult. They're one of the best teams in the world but ⁠we got through because we scored more goals than they did overall. That's what's all ​about.”

Article written by Naeemah Pathan