Atletico Madrid advances to Copa del Rey final 4-3 on aggregate despite a 3-0 loss to Barcelona

By: Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press Posted: 4:36 PM CST Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026

MADRID (AP) — Atletico Madrid just barely held on to its first-leg advantage against defending champion Barcelona in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, advancing to its first Copa final in 13 years despite a 3-0 loss to the Catalan club.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/03/2026 (213 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Atletico advanced 4-3 on aggregate thanks to its 4-0 win in the first leg last month in Madrid.

Diego Simeone’s team will play in the final for the first time since it won its 10th Copa trophy in the 2012-13 season.

Atletico Madrid's Johnny Cardoso hugs Barcelona's Raphinha after during the Copa del Rey semifinal second leg soccer match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

The second leg of the other semifinal between Real Sociedad and Basque Country rival Athletic Bilbao will be on Wednesday. Sociedad won 1-0 at Athletic last month.

The final will be in April in Seville.

Barcelona saw itself in a hole after being trounced in the first half of the first leg last month, conceding all four goals before the break at the Metropolitano stadium.

Barcelona came out strong at home Tuesday, scoring with Marc Bernal in the 29th minute and Raphinha converting a penalty kick in first-half stoppage time. Bernal added the third in the 72nd, leaving the hosts one goal shy from evening the series.

“We knew it was going to be a tough match, it’s not easy to overcome a 4-0 defeat,” Raphinha said. “But I’m proud of the team. We gave everything we had from the start. We leave disappointed because we wanted to be in the final, and I think we deserved it after the game that we played.”

Barcelona kept pressing but Atletico’s stout defense held on.

“Maybe it wasn’t our best match, but it was a game of 180 minutes,” Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso said. “They had everything going their way but we suffered when we had to suffer. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but in the end we made it to the final.”

Barcelona lost defender Jules Koundé to an injury 13 minutes into the match. He was replaced by Alejandro Balde, who in the second half asked to be substituted as well. Forward Robert Lewandowski missed the match because of an injury.