On February 12, 2026, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona faced each other at the Estadio Riyadh Air Metropolitano in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final. Atlético won the match impressively 4:0, with all four goals coming in the first half. Early on, it became clear that Barcelona was not in their usual rhythm that evening, and Atlético took full advantage, resulting in a decisive scoreline.
From the very start, the atmosphere at the Metropolitano was incredible, with the fans driving their team forward and creating an electrifying environment. We had seats right behind the goal on the lower tier, practically at the sidelines, which allowed us to watch the players warm up up close. It was my first time seeing a Barcelona match live, and although many of the Catalan team’s top players were out due to injuries, it was still impressive to see players like Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo right in front of us.
As soon as the game started, Atlético surprised everyone. Many had predicted a Barcelona victory, but Atlético came out much stronger. After just seven minutes, the 1:0 came from an own goal following an unfortunate back pass from Eric García that goalkeeper Joan García could not control. Just seven minutes later, Antoine Griezmann scored to make it 2:0 for the hosts, sending the fans into an even louder frenzy. At that point, Barcelona clearly had not found their rhythm yet, and many believed they would surely recover and turn the game around after a slow start.
But Atlético controlled much of the match, creating chance after chance, especially through fast breaks and well-executed counters, which caused Barcelona serious problems. In the 33rd minute, Atlético extended their lead when Ademola Lookman finished off a quick counterattack, slipping the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 3:0.
Even the Barcelona supporters could hardly believe how the game was unfolding. Just as most spectators were thinking about halftime, Julián Álvarez scored in the second minute of added time of the first half to make it 4:0, and the Metropolitano erupted with excitement.
In the second half, Atlético did not want to take too many risks and set up defensively, but they remained dangerous and created more chances. Barcelona managed to score a goal, but it was disallowed for offside after a long VAR review, adding to the visitors’ visible frustration. In the 85th minute, Barcelona defender Eric García received the red card for a last‑man foul on Atlético’s Álex Baena as he raced through on goal, a challenge that denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. The referee initially showed a yellow card, but after a VAR review he upgraded it to a straight red, leaving Barcelona with ten men in the closing stages.
The return leg of this Copa del Rey semi-final is scheduled for March 3 at Camp Nou, and Barcelona will have a lot of work to do to overturn the clear first-leg result.
What made this match particularly memorable for me personally was that a good friend of mine, a big Barcelona fan, was seeing a Barça game live for the first time and ended up witnessing his team lose so heavily. Especially unfortunate for him was that all the goals went in right in front of us, as we were seated behind Joan García’s goal in the first half. It was an evening full of emotions that neither of us will forget anytime soon.