Atletico Madrid and Barcelona played a thrilling match in the Spanish Super Cup semifinal. Los Blaugranas and Los Colchoneros played out a thriller that ended with five second-half goals, but Atletico would end up on top of the match. They completed a huge comeback with two goals inside the 80th minute mark.
Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann scored for Barcelona. Koke, Alvaro Morata and Angel Correa found the back of the net for Los Colchoneros. Correa’s goal was the decisive strike late in the match.
A scoreless first half delivers chances on both ends
Atletico Madrid and Barcelona began this match looking to become Real Madrid’s opponent in the Super Cup Final to be played Sunday, and the match started quite tight. Neither side seemed to give an inch to the other, and the best example of that was the fact the first chance only came in the 22nd minute when Messi tested Jan Oblak. The Slovenia international, however, tipped the ball away.
Los Colchoneros responded rather quickly with a free kick from Hector Herrera, but Neto was stellar to make a huge diving save. Antoine Griezmann also had a great chance to score against his own team, but Oblak was magnificent once again to deny the Frenchman. As a result, the first half ended with a scoreless draw and neither team was looking dominant over the other.
Koke and Messi trade quick goals to spark things up
Atletico grabbed the lead just 18 seconds into the second half. Arturo Vidal lost a ball in midfield, and a great passing sequence from Los Colchoneros ended with Koke placing the ball past Neto. Koke entered the game during half-time replacing Hector Herrera, and the Spanish playmaker made an instant impact in the game. However, Atletico’s lead would fade away quite soon since Messi evened things up just five minutes after Koke’s goal.
The Argentinian superstar took advantage of a rebound inside the box, and blasted the ball past Oblak to even things up quickly in the second half. The second 45 minutes began with a lot of intensity after two quick goals inside the first 10 minutes.
Griezmann puts Barca on top despite two disallowed goals
Barcelona took control of the match following Messi’s goal, and the Argentina international added another goal in the 60th minute but his strike was disallowed due to a VAR decision. However, they didn’t waste time to add another goal to their tally. It couldn’t have been pictured perfectly for Barca fans, as Griezmann completed the comeback to put Barcelona up by one goal midway into the second half. The former Atletico star pounced on a rebound inside the six-yard box, and nodded the ball home past Oblak.
Atletico’s reaction didn’t arrive in time, and Barca came close to extend their lead even further thanks to Pique. However, the Spain international’s goal was once again ruled by the VAR referees. Los Colchoneros can definitively thank the Video Assistant Referee for allowing them to stay alive in this match late in the contest. Those two disallowed goals would end up playing a pivotal role on the development of the contest.
Atletico complete a late comeback thanks to two late goals
Barcelona’s backup goalkeeper, Neto, committed a clumsy challenge inside the box and the referee didn’t waste time to call a penalty. Former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata stepped up to the challenge, and placed the ball out of Neto’s reach into the bottom right corner to even things up 2-2.
Barcelona looked stunned after Atletico’s equalizer, and Los Colchoneros took full advantage of their momentum to add a third goal. Angel Correa, who previously assisted on Koke’s goal, took advantage of a great through ball from Morata to score the team’s third goal. Neto could’ve easily done more on that sequence, but the ball ended bouncing into the back of the net.
Ernesto Valverde introduced two late changes to spark things up, but Barca didn’t have enough time to mount another comeback. Diego Simeone’s men closed things out, and Atletico ended winning the match in spectacular fashion. Atletico will now decide their fate against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final, while Barcelona will return home empty-handed.
Undoubtedly, this is a disappointing result for Los Blaugranas. And a thrilling one for Los Colchoneros.
Match Report
FC Barcelona: Neto (4); Sergi Roberto (5), Gerard Pique (6), Samuel Umtiti (5), Jordi Alba (6); Arturo Vidal (5), Sergio Busquets (6) (Ivan Rakitic (-), 86’), Frenkie de Jong (5) (Ansu Fati (-), 88’); Lionel Messi (9), Luis Suarez (6), Antoine Griezmann (7)
Subs not used: Inaki Pena (GK), Nelson Semedo, Junior Firpo, Clement Lenglet, Carles Perez
Atletico Madrid: Jan Oblak (7); Kieran Trippier (5), Felipe (4), Stefan Savic (5), Renan Lodi (6) (Vitolo (5), 67’); Angel Correa (8), Hector Herrera (5) (Koke (7), 46’) (Marcos Llorente (5), 72’), Thomas (6), Saul (5); Joao Felix (6), Alvaro Morata (8)
Subs not used: Antonio Adan (GK), Santiago Arias, Mario Hermoso, Riquelme
Goals: Koke (0-1, 46’), Messi (1-1, 51’), Griezmann (2-1, 62’), Morata (PK, 2-2, 82’), Correa (3-2, 86′)
Referee: Jose Luis Gonzalez Gonzalez
Yellow Cards: Pique, Suarez, Vidal, Neto (BAR); Savic, Thomas, Felipe, Marcos Llorente (ATL)
Red Cards: None
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