Barcelona edged into the final of the Copa del Rey for the fourth consecutive season, despite being reduced to nine men in a 1-1 semi-final second leg draw with Atletico Madrid.
Diego Simeone opted for a more attacking approach having lost the first leg at the Vicente Calderon 2-1, with Atleti dominating much of the first half, but against the run of play it was the Catalans who opened the scoring when Luis Suarez tucked home a finish on the rebound from Lionel Messi’s initial shot.
Atletico rallied once again in the second half though, with Barcelona reduced to 10 men when Sergi Roberto was shown a second yellow. The visitors’ advantage was cancelled out when Yannick Carrasco was also booked for the second time.
Kevin Gameiro blasted a penalty kick over the bar before Antoine Griezmann set up the French striker for a simple finish from close range with just seven minutes left to play.
A grandstand finish saw Luis Suarez also dismissed, but Atleti couldn’t find the goal to take the tie to extra time, with Barca setting a Copa del Rey final date where they will face either Celta Vigo or Alaves, who play on Wednesday evening.
