Barcelona 4-4 Atletico Madrid: Alexander Sorloth nets stoppage time equaliser in Copa del Rey thriller | OneFootball

Barcelona were seconds away from taking a lead into the second leg

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid played out a classic in their Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg.

Atletico, who beat Barcelona in the La Liga meeting earlier in the season, enjoyed a dream start at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Then a few minutes later, Antoine Griezmann came back to haunt his former club by doubling Atletico’s lead.

Atletico certainly caught Barcelona sleeping in the early stages, though the home side duly woke up and should have scored through Ferran Torres before Pedri did reduce the deficit by finishing off a sweeping move from close range.

Moments later Barca were back on level terms as Pau Cubarsi was just too strong for Pablo Barrios as he headed home Raphinha’s corner.

The Brazilian then teed up Cubarsi’s central defensive partner Inigo Martinez to complete the turnaround in a truly devastating 20 minute spell from the current La Liga leaders.

Long periods of the second half felt like a more low-key affair in comparison to the first, yet chances were aplenty for the visitors as Alvarez and Griezmann both went close before substitute Alexander Sorloth had a goal, correctly, disallowed for offside.

When Robert Lewandowski made an immediate impact off the bench by converting from close range after magical wing play from Lamine Yamal, Barcelona seemed home and dry with a quarter of the game left.

However, the visitors had other ideas. Marcos Llorente set up a tense finale with a powerful effort. Then deep in stoppage time, Sorloth - just like he did in the La Liga fixture back in December - scored to complete the comeback.

Final result; 4-4. If the first-leg is anything to go by, the second leg between these two sides will be another classic.