Atletico Madrid put on a stunning first-half display as they thrashed La Liga leaders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.
The game started badly for Barcelona when Eric Garcia’s backpass rolled under his goalkeeper and into the net for an own goal. Atletico quickly doubled their lead in the 14th minute with a curled finish from Antoine Griezmann against his former club.
Atleti dominated the rest of the half, scoring twice more: Ademola Lookman converted a pass from Julian Alvarez, and Alvarez ended his 11-match goal drought with a powerful long-range strike just before halftime.
Barcelona thought they had a goal back in the second half through Pau Cubarsi, but after a record-equalling eight-minute VAR review, it was disallowed for offside. Later, Eric Garcia was sent off after fouling Alex Baena.
The emphatic win leaves Barcelona with a tough task ahead in the return leg at Camp Nou on 3 March.
