MADRID: Barcelona will face fierce rivals Real Madrid in a mouth-watering Copa del Rey final after they beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 at a feverish Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday to complete a 5-4 aggregate win.

Following an eight-goal thriller in the first leg of the semi-final in Barcelona, Ferran Torres’s effort from inside the box in the 27th minute was enough to earn the Catalan side a win in the Spanish capital that booked their ticket to the final in Seville later this month.

Torres was freed through the middle by Lamine Yamal and took the ball in his stride before striking a low shot into the bottom left corner past keeper Juan Musso.

Atletico pushed for the equaliser in the second half, with substitute Alexander Sorloth missing a sitter from close range, but Barca held on to secure a narrow win.

“Winning here already tastes great, so you can imagine scoring the winner which books a ticket to a final,” Torres said. “The match was a war, a final was at stake. We did everything we could and it was in our hands to get the victory and get that place in the final. We can’t relax, we have to keep believing and working, with humility and I’m sure good things will come If a final is already a huge motivation, imagine playing against your most direct rival.”

It was yet another disappointing home elimination for Atletico after they lost on penalties to Real in the round of 16 of the Champions League last month.

“We just have to face reality as it is...” Atletico defender Jose Maria Gimenez told TVE. “We’re far away from the top in La Liga, but we’re going to try until the end and we’ll see where we stand in the end to see if the season is good or not. We thank our fans from the bottom of our hearts and apologise for those moments when we were not up to the task. Together we are one and we are stronger. That is how it should always be and hopefully always

will be.”

The Copa was Atletico’s only realistic hope for a title this season, as they trail first-placed Bara by nine points after 29 matches in La Liga.

“Our team has competed really well,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. “It did it in the Champions League, in the Copa and in the league. We’re having a good season and we’ll keep going with the game-by-game mentality. We’ll try to improve to get closer to the teams above us, accepting what we are.”

After Real fought back to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw against Real Sociedad on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win, Wednesday’s result set up a Clasico between Real and Barca in the Cup final, something that has not happened for over a decade.

Real and Barca have met in the Copa del Rey final on 18 occasions with Real leading the rivalry with 11 wins, including a 2-1 triumph in the 2014 final in Valencia.

Barcelona thrashed Real both times they met this season, a 4-0 win at Santiago Bernabeu in LaLiga in October and a 5-2 victory in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia in January.

Both sides are still in contention for three trophies this season as they are through to the Champions League quarter-finals and going head-to-head in what seems to be a two-horse race for the La Liga title. Hansi Flick’s Barca are top of the standings with 66 points, three ahead of Real.

“We played really bravely here, it was not easy, especially in the second half,” Flick said. “[The job] is not done, we’re fighting, we’re trying everything to win titles and we’re in a good way, the team is doing great.”

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2025