Atlético Madrid shocked Barcelona with four goals in the first half to win the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal 4-0 at the Metropolitano stadium on Thursday.
A disastrous first 45 minutes for the visitors started when Joan García tried to control Eric García‘s harmless-looking pass but the ball went underneath his foot outside the six-yard box.
García ran and dived to try to keep the ball from crossing the line, but didn’t make it back in time. He swatted the ball back into play — and Atletico forward Ademola Lookman then sent it into the net — but the ball had earlier crossed the line.
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Antoine Griezmann gave Atlético a 2-0 lead by scoring in the 14th, Lookman added a third in the 33rd and Julián Álvarez got a fourth goal in first-half stoppage time.
Barcelona prevented further damage in the second half but saw defender García sent off for a rash challenge in the 85th minute. The LaLiga leaders also had a Pau Cubarsí goal ruled out early in the second half after a lengthy check from the video assistant referee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
