Crazy Semifinal: Does the away goals rule apply in Barça-Atlético?

FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid drew in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals in Montjuïc (4-4), a result that leaves the tie completely open for the return match to be played on April 2 at the Metropolitano. Beyond the bitter taste that the draw left for the azulgrana team, the truth is that, regarding the resolution of the tie, everything remains completely equal.

And unlike other seasons, in the Copa 'semis' the away goals rule does not apply. Thus, only the goals scored by each team count to determine who advances to the final at La Cartuja on Saturday, April 26. Both Barça and Atlético are required to win at the Metropolitano if they want to overcome a tie that, as expected, had a thrilling first encounter in Catalonia.

• Return match: Wednesday, April 2 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid at 21:30 h. Aggregate: 4-4.

The 'colchoneros' took an early lead, with goals from Julián Álvarez in the first six minutes. Barça managed to come back before halftime thanks to goals from Pedri González, Pau Cubarsí, and Iñigo Martínez, and even took a 4-2 lead in the second half with another goal from Robert Lewandowski. However, 'Aleti' reacted again in the last ten minutes, with two goals from Marcos Llorente and Alexander Sorloth.

What will happen if Barça and Atlético draw in the return of the 'semis'?

In this sense, in case of a tie during the 90 minutes at the Metropolitano, regardless of the score, there will be extra time. If the tie remains after extra time, it will go to penalties to determine the qualified team. Barça has not advanced to the final of the tournament since 2021, when the culés eliminated Sevilla (3-2 on aggregate) before defeating Athletic (0-4) to claim the title.

Atlético, on the other hand, has not lifted the Cup since 2013 against Real Madrid (1-3). At the Metropolitano, the recent history favors the azulgrana team, with 3 victories and 2 defeats in their last 5 visits for La Liga. The last time Barcelona lost at the 'rojiblanco' ground was on October 2, 2021 (2-0). Ronald Koeman was still in charge of the Catalans.