AtleticoMadrid 2 Barcelona 3 (Aggregate 2-4)
After the relative calm of the first leg between these twogreats of Spanish Football, the second leg in the Vicente Calderon Stadium wasalways likely to be a much livelier affair. So it proved on a night of highemotions and plenty of goal action, as Barcelona eventually overcame nine-manAtletico to progress into the next round of the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona had gained a slender one goal advantage from thehome leg after Lionel Messi had first missed a penalty but then scored therebound, placing the onus on last year's La Liga champions in the second leg.They responded immediately with yet another strike from the returning old boy,Fernando Torres, whose loan signing from AC Milan is seeming like a better dealevery day for the Madrid side. His goal in the first minute brought the two sideslevel on aggregate and set the match up perfectly for the entertainment andhigh drama to follow. It was just like the Torres of old, as he brought a highball down, bamboozled Javier Mascherano and fired his shot home off the post.
Barca responded swiftly and were back in front on aggregateafter 9 minutes through a Neymar goal, after a classy counter-attack by thevisitors involving Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar himself.
In a first-half that demonstrated what cup football is allabout, the Madrid side re-took the lead on the night when they were awarded apenalty on the half-hour, which Raul Garcia coolly converted. Mascherano's foulon Juanfran looked perhaps a shade outside the box, but the referee decidedotherwise.
The Catalan giants were in no mood to lose their grip onthe tie and were in front on the night before half-time, as first an own goalby Miranda drew them level at 2-2, and then the Brazilian Neymar struck againfour minutes before the break.
His close range goal from a Jordi Alba set-upwas only half the story though, as Atletico were still disputing Alba's part inwhat looked like a handball in blocking Antoine Griezmann's effort at the otherend moments before.
That left Atletico with a mountain to climb in the second-half,trailing 3-2 in the match and two goals down on aggregate. Away goals providedthe challenging proposition of them requiring three unanswered goals inforty-five minutes, to continue their cup interest. For some of the players itwas proving too much to take and rather bizarrely they were reduced to ten menbefore the resumption in play, as Gabi was sent off while going down the tunnelat half-time. The fiery moment seemed to be triggered after Neymar had beenseen arguing with some of the home players, as the teams left the pitch.
The ill-discipline displayed by Diego Simeone's mencontinued in the second-half, as Arda Turan strangely decided to throw his bootat one point as tempers flared. Mario Suarez capped a dismal night for the homefans as he also saw red late on, after being shown a second yellow card followinga foul on Messi. In truth, the game and Atletico's anger management had bothbeen long since lost by then, as the key decisions on the night seemed to goagainst them.
Barcelona will now face either Getafe or Villareal in thesemi-finals of the competition.