Barcelona endured a historically difficult night at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Thursday, crashing to a 4-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal. Diego Simeone’s men dismantled the Catalan giants with a clinical display of attacking football, effectively ending the contest within the first 45 minutes. A catastrophic own goal from Eric García opened the floodgates early, followed by a relentless barrage of scoring from Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman, and Julian Alvarez.
The scale of the collapse forced statisticians to look back decades for a similar defensive failure from the Blaugrana. According to OptaJose, this result marks only the second instance since the 2004/05 season that Barcelona has surrendered four goals before the halftime whistle. The only other time the club faced such a deficit in the modern era occurred during their infamous 8-2 Champions League quarterfinal loss to Bayern Munich in August 2020. This latest setback highlights a rare moment of extreme vulnerability for a side that has otherwise remained competitive throughout the current campaign.
Hansi Flick’s side struggled to cope with Atletico’s high-intensity pressing and rapid transitions from the onset. While the visitors attempted to regain their composure in the second half, the damage sustained during the opening period proved insurmountable. The result leaves Barcelona facing a nearly impossible task as they prepare to host the second leg. Beyond the scoreline, the psychological weight of matching such an unwanted record from the “Bayern disaster” adds further pressure on the squad to deliver a response in the return fixture.
The two Spanish heavyweights will conclude this semifinal tie in March when they meet at the Spotify Camp Nou. Barcelona must now find a way to overturn the four-goal margin to keep their domestic cup ambitions alive, while Atletico Madrid sits on the verge of a historic final appearance. For Flick, the weeks leading up to the rematch will center on defensive reorganization to ensure that the errors witnessed in Madrid do not become a recurring theme in the club’s trophy pursuit.
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