Barcelona will take on Ademola Lookman’s Atletico Madrid in a blockbuster Copa del Rey semi-final following Friday’s draw at the headquarters of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in Las Rozas.
The tie brings together two of Spain’s traditional heavyweights, with Barcelona emerging as favourites after the exit of Real Madrid, although all four remaining sides have won the competition within the last 13 years. The match-up also revives last season’s semi-final meeting, which Barcelona won 5-4 on aggregate, including a 1-0 victory in Madrid.
Atletico arrive full of confidence after a commanding 5-0 demolition of Real Betis in the quarter-finals, the most emphatic result of the round. The performance was further boosted by the recent addition of Lookman, who has added attacking edge to Diego Simeone’s side. However, Atletico could be without Pablo Barrios for the first leg.
Barcelona edged past giant-killers Albacete 2-1 on Tuesday night but needed a late goal-line clearance from Gerard Martin to secure their place. Despite being on a strong run of form, the Catalan side are still searching for peak consistency and will be without Pedri for the semi-final.
The other semi-final will see Athletic Club face Real Sociedad in an all-Basque derby. Both sides needed late goals to progress from the quarter-finals, with Inaki Williams decisive for Athletic against Valencia and Orri Oskarsson netting late as La Real saw off Alaves. The rivals met only last weekend in a 1-1 draw at San Mames, while their earlier clash in Anoeta ended 3-2 in favour of the Txuri-Urdin.
The semi-finals will be played over two legs. The first legs are scheduled for February 10/11, with the return fixtures set for March 4/5. Atletico Madrid will host Barcelona at the Metropolitano in the opening leg, while Athletic Club will welcome Real Sociedad to San Mames.