FC Barcelona punched their ticket to the Copa del Rey final with a 1-0 win (5-4 agg) over Atletico Madrid Wednesday night setting up a Clasico final with Real Madrid on April 26th.
Ferran Torres latched onto a Lamine Yamal pass in the 27th minute and poked past Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso for the lead, and Barca looked likely to add to that tally throughout the first half, but Atletico held on heading into halftime.
For Torres, a surprise inclusion in the starting XI, it was his 4th consecutive game with a goal, and he now has 16 goals on the season in all competitions. His start also allowed Robert Lewandowski to rest his 36-year-old legs for the upcoming two matches in six days.
While the first half saw Barca dominate for the most part, Atletico came out strong in the second and made the Catalans suffer for long stretches, something they haven´t had to do much in the past 3 months.
It was just the 4th time in 21 matches that FC Barcelona managed to score just 1 goal, and this won´t be good news for Real Madrid fans as they showed they can sit in and defend and suffer when needed.
Frenkie de Jong and Pedri dominated the midfield, with de Jong in particular showing that he has returned to the best form of his career. Fermin Lopez had a good outing in the middle with them, but with the form of de Jong and Pedri coach Hansi Flick can put anyone in the middle with them and it won´t change a thing. He did just that in the 58th minute when he inserted the more defensive Eric Garcia to help Barca defend out the lead.
Ronald Araujo came on in the same substitution and spelled Pau Cubarsi at center back, with Cubarsi still just coming off an ankle injury. Barca goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny faced only 6 shots, none on target, and still hasn´t lost a match in 2025.
While it was a great win in a difficult stadium setting up the perfect Copa del Rey final, Barca won´t have time to celebrate as they look towards a difficult La Liga match at home with Real Betis on Saturday. With Real Madrid hosting lowly Valencia the pressure is once again on FC Barcelona to keep their 3-point lead in the La Liga title race.
As wins keep piling up, coach Hansi Flick moves Barca closer and closer to the elusive treble, which seems more possible every time Barca take the field.