Atletico Madrid struggled through a 3-0 Copa del Rey semifinal second leg defeat at Barcelona, but scraped into the final 4-3 on aggregate. Despite a dominant home performance with two goals from 18-year-old Marc Bernal and a penalty from Raphinha, the defending champions fell agonizingly short of an historic comeback.
The Spanish champions almost produced a comeback for the ages on Tuesday after their 4-0 first-leg defeat in early February, but fell just short at Camp Nou. The Catalans had a beautiful move and assist by Lamine Yamal for a Marc Bernal tap-in just over 30 minutes in, then Raphinha converted from the spot in the first half to give Barca real momentum heading into the break. Bernal added his second goal in the second half, putting Barcelona tantalizingly close—needing just one more goal to force extra time.
Barcelona threw everything at Atletico in the closing stages. Hansi Flick made a couple of crazy tactical moves, putting Ronald Araujo up front as a striker and playing Pedri at center-back, with the home side desperately hunting for that elusive fourth goal. Barça tried absolutely everything: several crosses into the box, shots from distance, and a very strong penalty shout that was ignored by the referee and VAR, but the breakthrough never came.
Atletico, who clung on desperately in the final stages, returned to the final for the first time since 2013. The Colchoneros will now face the winner of the Real Sociedad vs Athletic Bilbao semifinal. For Barcelona, who came out flying and gave everything they had, the Copa del Rey defense has ended in heartbreak—a masterclass performance that wasn't quite enough to overcome the first-leg deficit. Check out more on how other European competitions are shaping up.