Copa Del Ray: Athletic Club knocks Barcelona out to reach semis
It was another disappointment for Barcelona, as the club was expecting to go to the Copa del Rey semifinals for the second straight season.
Riding on goals from Koke, Alvaro Morata and Angel Correa, Atletico Madrid registered a sensational 3-2 win over Barcelona on Thursday to qualify for the Spanish Super Cup final in Jeddah.
Madrid scored twice in the final 10 minutes of regulation time to inch past Barcelona in a nail-biting semifinal match at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
However, the loss of Barca means the viewers won’t be watching a Clasico in Sunday’s final contest as they will be Atletico Madrid who will be facing Real Madrid — winners over Valencia in the other semifinal — for the title.
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Despite several attacks, both the teams remain goalless in the first half. However, after the break, the deadlock was shattered inside the first minute by Atletico captain Koke, who came on for Hector Herrera.
Sidelined for weeks with a hamstring injury, the midfielder returned with a bang, scoring in the 46th minute with an assist from Angel Correa.
Messi levelled things just after five minutes, pushing through Koke and defender Stefan Savic to beat Oblak, who thwarted Antoine Griezmann on the next sequence.
The Catalan club finally went ahead in the 64th minute. Oblak repelled a powerful header from Luis Suarez only for Griezmann to score on the rebound.
Madrid bounced back in the 81st minute as Alvaro Morata converted from the spot to make it 2-2 after being fouled by Barcelona keeper Neto.
After Atletico’s pleas for a hand ball by Gerard Pique were turned down by the referee, VAR awarded them a penalty and Correa netted the winner from the spot in the 86th minute.
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