Hapless Barcelona suffer four-goal embarrassment in Madrid
Atlético Madrid stunned Barça in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Barcelona have it all to do in their Copa del Rey clash with Atlético Madrid, falling to a 4-0 deficit by half time in the first leg. Hansi Flick’s team went into the game as favorites but a quartet of first -alf goals at the Metropolitano left them chasing the tie.
Atleti took the lead after just seven minutes when Barça defender Eric Garcia turned the ball into his own net. Antoine Greizmann doubled the hosts advantage soon after, before Ademola Lookman made it three midway through the first half. Finally, Julián Álvarez added a fourth in the first-half stoppage time.
That four-goal first half from Atleti put them in a commanding lead in the semi-final, even with a further 135 minutes to be played. For Barcelona it’s a historically bad first-half performance that ranks among the worst in club history.
The last time Barcelona were four goals down at half time was in October 1953, when the team fell to a 4-0 deficit against Real Madrid before the break. Alfredo Di Stéfano added a fifth in the second half, inflicting a famous 5-0 defeat on Barcelona.
What is Barcelona’s biggest loss?
More than two decades earlier, Barcelona suffered the heaviest defeat in the club’s history. Barça lost 12-1 to Athletic Bilbao in a league fixture in February 1931, conceding six goals before and after the halftime break. Athletic strike Bata scored seven goals that day, completing his hat-trick with 24 minutes.
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