February 26, (THEWILL) – Atletico Madrid salvaged a 4-4 draw against Barcelona in their Copa del Rey semi-final first leg on Tuesday, with Alexander Sorloth scoring a stoppage-time equaliser to complete a dramatic late comeback from two goals down. The result leaves the tie evenly balanced ahead of the return leg in Madrid on April 2.
The match began at lightning pace with Atletico taking an early two-goal advantage through Julian Alvarez, who scored within the first minute, followed by Antoine Griezmann extending their lead just five minutes later. Barcelona responded strongly, with Pedri reducing the deficit in the 19th minute after connecting with Jules Kounde’s pass.
The hosts then capitalised on two corner kicks in quick succession, with Pau Cubarsi heading home from Raphina’s delivery to equalise, before Inigo Martinez put Barcelona ahead with another header from Raphina’s corner just before half-time. Robert Lewandowski appeared to have sealed victory for Hansi Flick’s side in the 74th minute, finishing from close range following impressive work by Lamine Yamal.
Diego Simeone’s team mounted an unlikely comeback in the closing stages when Marcos Llorente caught Barcelona’s defence unprepared, finishing Angel Correa’s cutback with six minutes remaining. The dramatic equaliser came in the 93rd minute when Sorloth converted Samuel Lino’s low cross to make it 4-4, stunning the home crowd.
The eight-goal thriller featured remarkable attacking play from both sides, with Barcelona unable to defend their two-goal advantage despite dominating large portions of the match. Both teams will now prepare for what promises to be an equally compelling second leg at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
