Going behind 2-0 before even taking a shot, Barcelona suffered a 4-0 loss in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semifinal to Atletico Madrid. It’s Barcelona’s joint-worst loss to Atleti ever, also losing 4-0 in the Copa Del Rey in 1989 and in LaLiga in 1942. This is also the first time Barcelona trailed by four goals at halftime since August 2020, an 8-2 loss to a Bayern Munich side in the Champions League, then led by none other than current Barcelona manager Hansi Flick.
Despite this loss coming with another leg to play at the Camp Nou on March 3, it does show that there are areas of improvement within the team. Without Raphinha, Barcelona’s attack were unable to keep up with a new look Atleti as improvement in the second half of play wasn’t enough to claw back a result.
While Barcelona are still leading LaLiga by a one-point lead over Real Madrid, struggling yet again without Raphinha shows that even with the attacking talent in the side, the Brazilian is the key cog in making things tick. Barcelona have a total of six losses in all competitions this season, and in five of these, Raphinha wasn’t available to play, and in the other, he came off the bench, only logging 28 minutes. The good news is that Raphinha’s adductor strain isn’t expected to keep him out of action for long, but the bad news is that this is the third period of time that the Brazilian has missed due to injury this season.
When the defense and Barcelona’s high line aren’t keeping the ball out of the back of the net, the attack has to be perfect to keep up with their opposition. It’s a tactical issue that can be papered over when Pedri is in the midfield, but with critical games coming up and a slim lead in LaLiga, tweaks are needed, especially with Barcelona being down another player in Eric Garcia, who was sent off with a red card.
For Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, Ademola Lookman may have been a transcendent signing. Joining from Atalanta on transfer deadline day, Lookman already has four goal contributions in three matches played. With the attack needing everything they can get with the Champions League knockouts coming against Club Brugge on Feb. 18, being able to secure a strong lead in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey will allow Simeone the ability to rotate.
With Barcelona having La Remontada, the largest comeback in Champions League history, in their pocket, this is a tie that’s far from over. In 2017, Barcelona defeated Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 in the home leg of the Champions League round of 16 to win 6-5 on aggregate, so anything can happen at the Camp Nou in March.
