Atletico Madrid produced an outstanding first-half display of attacking football as they thrashed La Liga leaders Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.
Ademola Lookman was among the stars of the night, scoring once and providing an assist as Diego Simeone’s side dominated from start to finish.
A bad night for the visitors also saw them denied a goal back in the second half when, after a record-equalling eight-minute check by the video assistant referee (VAR), Pau Cubarsi’s strike was ruled out for offside.
Atleti’s opener set the tone for what was a disastrous evening for Barcelona as Eric Garcia’s backpass to Joan Garcia rolled under the goalkeeper’s foot and trickled into his own net.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 14th minute when the competition’s top scorer this season, Antoine Griezmann, curled home a fine finish against his former club.
They added a third in the 33rd minute when Giuliano Simeone broke down the right before passing to Julian Alvarez and the former Manchester City forward clipped the ball across to Ademola Lookman, who drove in his second goal in as many games for his new club.
Argentine Alvarez then ended his two-month, 11-match goal drought with an emphatic finish, thumping an unstoppable drive into the back of the net from distance in first-half added time.
More misfortune followed for the visitors, who thought they had a goal back in the second half when Cubarsi prodded in after being set up by Robert Lewandowski.
However, VAR promptly decided to review the incident, with the check lasting so long the goalkeeper’s were thrown footballs to warm up with.
