Atletico Madrid used four first-half goals to separate the defending champions in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.

Atletico Madrid shreds Barcelona with four goals in first half Seal a 4-0 victory After the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, the defending champions faced an almost impossible task in the second game.

Diego Simeone’s side took just 45 minutes to seize control of the game at home on Thursday, capitalizing on catastrophic early mistakes before Hansi Flick’s side opened the door at will and move into the brink of April’s final in Seville.

Atletico took the lead in remarkable fashion in the sixth minute. Barcelona defender Eric Garcia made a routine pass back, but goalkeeper Joan Garcia was already scanning upfield and let the ball slip from his boot towards the goal. His desperate swoop came too late, as it had crossed the line.

They doubled their lead eight minutes later with a flowing move. Ademola Lookman received a long ball on the left side and passed it to Julian Alvarez, who converted the play to Nahuel Molina. The right-back deftly passed the ball to Antoine Griezmann, who smoothly controlled the ball and drove it into the bottom corner.

The third goal in the 33rd minute was another counterattack. Giuliano Simeone took the ball from the right and passed it low to Alvarez, who squared off and fired the unmarked Lookman into the bottom corner.

Flick responded by bringing on Robert Lewandowski in place of Marc Casado in the 37th minute. The change did little to stem the tide.

Instead, Atletico struck again before half-time. Lookman and Alvarez teamed up again, the Nigerian forward passed the ball to the center, and the Argentine shot into the top corner from the penalty area.

Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso blocked Fermín Lopez’s shot early in the second half as Barca looked for a lifeline ahead of the return leg at Camp Nou on March 3.

They thought they had scored in the 52nd minute when Pau Cubarsi’s free kick rebounded, but the shot was ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR review of nearly six minutes.

Atletico remained dangerous and almost added a fifth late on. In the 86th minute, substitute Alex Baena rushed through unmarked and was knocked down from behind by Garcia. The referee initially showed a yellow card but upgraded it to a straight red card after consulting the pitchside monitor.

“It’s crazy. Even more so against Barcelona,” defender Marcos Llorente told Movistar Plus.

“The team did everything right. We were united at the back, we didn’t sit back, we pressed high up the pitch and we broke up the space well. Everything went our way.”

The winner of this match will face either Real Sociedad or Athletic Bilbao in the final. Real Sociedad holds 1-0 advantage before the second leg in San Sebastian on March 4.