Barcelona, joined by Alaves, are through to the Copa del Rey final, after an explosive second half in the semi-final second leg at the Camp Nou.
Football games like this have everything for the neutral. Atletico missed a penalty and scored a late equaliser as three players took an early bath in a tempestuous 45 minutes, but it wasn’t enough as the hosts went through on aggregate.
And Alaves will meet Barca in the final after beating Celta Vigo 1-0 with a late dramatic winner, and while betting odds favour Luis Enrique’s men, it’s sure to be a cracker.
Barcelona 1-1 (3-2 on agg) Atletico Madrid
Luis Suarez was both hero and villain, not for the first time, as he scored the crucial goal to take Barcelona through to another final, and then was sent off late in the game. Team-mate Sergi Roberto was earlier dismissed for a second yellow and Atletico’s Yannick Ferreira Carrasco also saw red.
The visitors started brightly and Antoine Griezmann saw a shot blocked as early as three minutes, but the big moment came as half time approached when Lionel Messi’s scintillating run ended with his shot rebounding for the ever-alert Suarez to fire home.
With both teams down to ten men, Atletico pressed for a goal and should have scored on 80 minutes when Kevin Gameiro blew his penalty chance. But the forward made amends two minutes later with an equaliser on the night.
Suarez 90th minute red card gave more impetus to the underdogs but Barca held on to make the final.
Alaves 1-0 (1-0 on agg) Celta Vigo
After 175 minutes without a goal, the deadlock was finally broken in this semi-final by Alaves’ Edgar Mendez to send 19,000 fans at Mendizorroza wild. The home side had the better of the game with Ibai Gomez lively throughout and crashing a free-kick against the bar in the first half.
Iago Aspas was busy for Celta Vigo but when Mendez fired home from Victor Camarasa’s headed pass, a glorious Copa final against Barcelona was everything the home team and fans deserved.
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