Barcelona held off Atletico Madrid to triumph 2-1 in the first leg of their Copa Del Rey semi-final at the Vicente Calderon. The full-time whistle goes, a tale of two halves at the Vicente Calderon-and it's Barcelona who is on course to reach the Copa Del Rey final.
As mentioned in the official site of FC Barcelona, Suarez and Lionel Messi put the visitors 2-0 ahead at the break, only for Antoine Griezmann to reduce the deficit with a second-half header. Barcelona takes on Athletic Bilbao at the weekend, while Atletico Madrid hosts Leganes before heading to the Catalan capital.
Messi gets booked for a rather late sliding tackle on Felipe Luis. Seconds earlier Griezmann had whizzed a shot just wide, with Cillessen living in hope rather than expectation.
Serious let-off for Barcelona, as Cillessen's short pass to Mascherano, catches out the midfielder. Gabi goes into the book for a foul on Rafinha-he simply stood his ground and blocked the Brazilian from getting on the end of a one-two.
Atletico was transformed after the break. As mentioned in the Mirror, Antoine Griezmann halved the deficit with a header, but the home team couldn't find a leveler.
The former Chelsea and Liverpool striker makes a run across the front post to get on the end of Felipe Luis' left-wing cross, allowing him to attempt an audacious flick with the outside of his right boot. After the foul on Rafinha, Barcelona's most valuable player Messi steps up and curls the free-kick up and over the wall. Moya makes ground across his line and, between his right hand and the crossbar.
A free-kick is headed back across goal by Godin, allowing team-mate Griezmann to nod home. It was a crucial strike for Atletico who simply had to score to keep this tie alive.
Koke tries his luck from outside the area, sending in a dipping shot that Cillessen judges well, allowing the ball to go over the bar and out for a goal kick. The Atletico Madrid midfielder has otherwise been excellent for the hosts, who are pushing hard in the closing minutes. Suarez and Messi's good attack give the gift of the win to Barcelona but Griezmann effort gives them to stop for a win for some time.
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