FC Barcelona 4-4 Atlético Madrid: To be continued...

Particularly among older fans, an FC Barcelona v Atlético Madrid semi-final in the Copa del Rey was always going to bring back memories of that incredible game in 1997 that ended 5-4. But the 2025 sequel to that match is one that fans will be talking about for years as well.

It's not every day you see a game in which both sides manage to battle back from two goals down. But that's what we just witnessed here...

And Tuesday night was only the start of the story. There are at least 90 more minutes of football to played between these sides when they meet again on April 2 at the Metropolitano.

Barça put a miserable start behind them, in which they were trailing 2-0 after just six minutes, to storm their way back and lead 4-2.

But the party atmosphere on a damp evening at Montjuic was then spoiled by two late goals for Atlético Madrid that meant a night of relentless drama ended 4-4.

To come back from behind in such magnificent fashion was as frustrating as it was to see all that great work ruined at the end, but disappointing though it was, the overriding emotion right now is one of having just witnessed a footballing masterpiece.

And anyone who loves this game will be counting down the days for the second part, to find how this incredible drama is going to end.

Double shocker

It was action right from the start, with four goals in the first twenty minutes, two for each side.

Atlético got the first two. In the very first minute, Julián Álvarez very nearly converted an Antoine Griezmann cross, and in the second he did. And just four minutes later, the same two players combined the other way round, with the Frenchman slotting home against his former club.

Barça lacked the intensity, while Atlético were oozing it. But the turnaround was as immediate as it was impressive.

Dramatic recovery

Ferran Torres missed an easy chance, but Barça had finally switched on and urged on by a support that rather than despair was relishing the challenge, scored twice in two minutes to level things up in astonishing fashion.

Jules Kounde, whose error had begun the move that led to Atlético’s second, redeemed himself by supplying the killer ball for Pedri to get the Catalans off the mark.

The Estadi Olimpic was already sensing something. Atlético had lost all their earlier verve and composure. And when Pau Cubarsí headed home a corner, his first ever senior goal... bang! Barça were back level. 2-2!

Comeback complete

Barça kept driving forward and the third goal that always looked on the cards arrived just before the break. Another superb Raphinha corner, and this time it was an unmarked Iñigo Martinez who was waiting at the far post.

The crisis of the first few minutes just made it all the more sweeter. Incredibly, Barça were going in for the break a goal ahead, and their strong start now a distant memory, Atlético were clinging on for dear life!

Further in front

The sensation was that Barça might end up running away with this game, but Atlético got their bite back after the restart, and there was action at both ends of the pitch. The visitors had as many, if not more, chances than Barça, and Alexander Sørloth even had the ball in the net but the goal was chalked off for offside.

Instead, it was Barça who would end up claiming the next goal too. Lamine Yamal’s work in the build-up was the highlight, dancing around Javi Galán and laying up a beauty of a ball for Robert Lewandowski, moments after coming on as a substitute, to guide across the line.

Stunned at the end

It was now very much one of those big party nights at the Estadi Olimpic, but Atlético hadn’t had their final say. Marcos Llorente finished off a well-worked move on 84 minutes. Barça were still going into the second leg with an advantage, but the job was going to that little harder.

And it would be made harder still when, in the third minute of injury time, Samuel Lino caught a long ball down the left wing and fed Sørloth for the goal that would make it 4-4. And that's how it ended.

There were so many positives in this game, and so many negatives too. But that’s only to be expected from a game that had a little bit of absolutely everything. So many twists, so many turns, and we’re still only half way through. On April 2, the story continues...