FC Barcelona came agonizingly close to a sensational comeback in their 3-0 win over Atlético Madrid in the second-leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, just one short of overturning the four-goal deficit at Camp Nou.
The hosts started well and caught Atléti out with a short corner routine before teenager Marc Bernal rifled Lamine Yamal’s cross into the roof of the net and Raphinha’s penalty halved the aggregate lead in a pulsating first half.
Bernal caressed home his second on the volley from Joao Cancelo’s deep cross to make it a nervy final 15 minutes for Diego Simeone’s men, but Los Colchoneros held on to book their spot in April’s final.
As it happened
Lamine Yamal unsurprisingly led the early charge for Barca, dancing into box and going down under challenge of the in-form Ademola Lookman eight minutes into the action, yet referee waived play on.
Chances began to fall for the hosts as Raphinha flashed a low drive into the side netting after Atléti made a meal of dealing with a cross in from the left, before teenager Marc Bernal saw his easily saved from 20 yards.
Half of the Nou Camp thought Hansi Flick’s team got the comeback started when Fermin Lopez was found by a low corner into the penalty area, but the Spaniard’s shot into the ground was wide.
He was then unable to convert an even better opportunity not long after, Yamal pulling the strings again with a stepover to get past Ruggeri and pick him out with a cut-back from the byline.
Alejandro Baldé found Yamal in space and in shooting range with a quarter of the game gone, and he sensed the opportunity to provide a spark but his curling effort was palmed aside by Juan Musso.
Just as Lopez and his Atléti counterpart Antoine Griezman had shots crucially saved, Barca’s first-half intensity told as Yamal stepped past Ademola Lookman after receiving a short corner and found an unmarked Bernal.
Practically a yard out, the 18-year-old could make no mistake with the chance put to him on a plate and fired into the roof of the net – all to no reaction from his stone-faced manager.
As the clock ticked over half an hour, Raphinha managed to rise higher that Julian Simeone at the back post but failed to guide right-back Joao Cancelo’s accurate cross goalward and halve Atléti’s aggregate lead.
Lookman, who had been scoring every 62 minutes on average, could have killed the game with half time fast approaching, rising to meet Marcos Llorente’s cross but the Nigerian headed desperately wide.
He would wish he had at least tested Garcia, as Pedri soon had the ball up the other end and darted into the box before going down claiming he had been tripped by Marc Pubill, wagging his finger as the midfielder fell.
Raphinha stepped up to send the goalkeeper the wrong way with the penalty, sparking delirium in the home end that was starting to hope they’d see something akin to La Remontada nearly a decade ago.
Barça were slower out of the blocks in the second half, but nearly found a third as Cancelo forced a brilliant save from Musso to keep out his shot from inside the box after running onto Yamal’s cross.
But Atléti hearts were pounding on 72 minutes as another short corner made its way to Cancelo before his deep cross was deftly side-footed across goal and into the bottom left by Bernal at the back post for his second.
Seeing his name in lights, Bernal saw fit to try his luck from distance with an ambitious strike after the visitors headed a cross clear but it was well over – Yamal had protested he was fouled in the box moments before, to no avail.
Gerrard Martin went ever so close to an incredible equalizer with minutes of normal time left, receiving a cut-back from substitute Marcus Rashford and curling a looping effort just over the crossbar from the edge of the box.
The home side launched yet another attack and were screaming for a second penalty as Raphinha went down claiming contact in the back from Ruggeri jumping to meet a cross, but it too was waived away.
Alexander Sørloth had a golden opportunity to book Atléti’s place in the final in stoppage time, played through the middle yet forced wide of goal before wastefully lashing over the top.
Barcelona had one last opportunity to launch it high as Ruggeri was caught offside, but centre-back Ronald Araujo – playing as an additional striker – was also beyond the last defender.
The home squad collapsed to the ground as the referee’s whistle signaled full time and the end of a tireless effort to make up the four-goal deficit sustained in a truly damaging first leg for Barca.
More to follow.