WHO: Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
What: Spanish Copa del Rey Semi-Final, Second Leg
Where: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
When: Tuesday, March 3, 9pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:30 GMT ahead of our live text commentary stream.
Barcelona suffered a humbling defeat in the first leg of this tie in Madrid and now need to find a way to overturn a four-goal deficit at the Camp Nou.
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Hansi Flick’s side can take some confidence in the fact that they are sitting at the top of La Liga and scoring freely.
They go into the game on the back of a 4-1 demolition of third-placed Villarreal at the weekend, in which 18-year-old star Lamin Yamal bagged his first career hat-trick.
However, Diego Simeone’s Atletico will back themselves to hold off Barca and look to exploit the hosts’ weaknesses on the counter.
Atletico arrived in Barcelona at the weekend after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Real Oviedo that moved them up to third in the league, albeit 13 points behind Barca.
What happened in the first leg?
Atletico Madrid sealed a 4-0 win over Barcelona with four first-half goals, with the holders tasked with a stunning comeback in the second leg.
Atlético took the lead in the sixth minute after Barcelona defender Eric Garcia rolled a routine pass to goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who let the ball slip under his boot and towards goal. He tried to fight back, but the ball crossed the line.
Eight minutes later, Ademola Lookman collected a long ball on the left and fed Julian Alvarez, who switched the play to Nahuel Molina. The right-back slipped a clever pass inside to Antoine Griezmann, who controlled smoothly and guided the ball into the bottom corner.
In the 33rd minute, Giuliano Simeone drove down the right and crossed low to Alvarez, who fired past an unmarked Lookman into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.
Just before half-time, Lookman and Alvarez combined again, with the Nigerian forward sliding into the center of a pass from the Argentine and unleashing a strike into the top corner from inside the box.
Barcelona thought they had scored in the 52nd minute when Pau Cubersi turned in the rebound from a free kick, only for it to be ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR review that lasted nearly six minutes.
The Catalans ultimately failed to find the net and now need a miracle to reach the final in Seville in April.
Who is in the other semi-final?
The winner of this tie will face either Real Sociedad or Athletic Bilbao in the final.
Real Sociedad hold a 1-0 advantage ahead of their second leg in San Sebastian on Wednesday.
Flick praises Yamal for being ‘extraordinary’
At the age of 18 years, 230 days, Yamal is the youngest player to score his first hat-trick in La Liga, according to Opta.
His foray against Villarreal included a brilliant solo effort for his second goal, which beat a player as he cut in from the right and curled a high shot into the far corner.
“He is exceptional and he is here to make people happy,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “We need his goals to give him confidence. He is very young, and he still needs to improve, but everyone knows the quality he has.
“The opponents will put two or three players on him, and it will be difficult. Today I am very happy for him. When he enjoys his football, it is perfect for him and for us.”
Simeone thrilled with ‘amazing’ Alvarez
Julian Alvarez struck in the 94th minute to give Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win over bottom side Real Oviedo in La Liga on Saturday and help his side climb to third place.
The Argentine striker scored his first league goal in nearly four months to secure Diego Simeone’s side only their second win in five league games.
Simeon singled out Alvarez for praise after the game.
“He’s a very important player, recognized worldwide, a lot of teams want him, but we have him, and hopefully he can give us everything he’s got, because he’s a fantastic footballer,” he said.
“We went from low to high in our game. We played well in the second half and at the end Julian’s goal came, which is good for him and the team.”
head-to-head
The two clubs have locked horns on 248 occasions, with Barca winning 113, Atlético 78 and 57 ending in draws.
Atlético’s last away win against Barcelona came in December 2024, when Alexander Sorloth scored a late goal to give the visitors a 2–1 win.
Barcelona team news
Striker Robert Lewandowski is unavailable after suffering a fractured eye socket in the win over Villarreal and Ferran Torres is expected to lead the line.
Eric Garcia will be suspended after being sent off in the first leg.
Last week, the club announced that midfielder Frenkie de Jong will be out for six weeks with a hamstring injury. Centre-back Andreas Christensen is also out for an extended period with a cruciate ligament tear.
Midfielder Gavi has returned to training after being injured since August, but is not expected to feature as he works on regaining full fitness.
However, Rafinha, Pedri and Marcus Rashford all missed the first leg, making them available to face Atletico at the Camp Nou.
Expected Rank:
Joan Garcia (goalkeeper); Kaunde, Kubersi, Martin, Balde; Pedri, Olmo; Yamal, Lopez, Rafinha; Torres
Atletico Madrid Team News
Jonny Cardoso injured his hamstring in the win over Real Oviedo at the weekend and will be sidelined.
Pablo Barrios is still out with a thigh injury and is not expected back until mid-March.
Expected Rank:
Musso (goalkeeper); Ruggeri, Hanko, Pabil, Molina; Simeone, Koke, Llorente, Lookman; Alvarez, Sorloth
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