Madrid, Spain – Barcelona suffered a crushing defeat against their host Atletico Madrid with a score of (4-0), in the match that brought them together in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Spanish King’s Cup, at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, leaving the Catalan team with a number of unprecedented negative records.
Barcelona conceded four goals in the first half, the first an own goal by Eric Garcia in the sixth minute. Antoine Griezmann added the second in the 14th minute, followed by Ademola Lookman’s third in the 33rd minute. Julian Alvarez completed the rout in the second minute of stoppage time.
Negative historical records haunt Barcelona
This is only the second time Barcelona have conceded four goals in the first half since the 2004-2005 season. The first time was against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2020, when the Catalan team lost 8-2.
This is also the first time Barcelona have trailed Atlético Madrid by four goals at halftime since the 1949-1950 La Liga season, a match that ended in a 4-1 victory for the Madrid side.
In the Spanish King’s Cup, this is the second time Barcelona has trailed by four goals in the first half, since their historic 11-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the 1943 edition.
A Night to Forget by Eric Garcia and Flick
The match witnessed another negative record, as Eric Garcia became the first Barcelona player to score an own goal and be sent off in the same match in all competitions since at least the 2004-2005 season.
Meanwhile, Barcelona’s German coach, Hansi Flick, conceded four goals in the first half for the second time in his coaching career. The first instance dates back to 2005, when he was managing Hoffenheim, and they lost 6-2 to Kickers Offenbach after trailing 4-0 at halftime.
