Nine-man Barcelona beat Atletico to reach Copa Del Ray final
Barcelona entered its fourth consecutive Copa del Rey final following a thrilling second leg draw against Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou on Tuesday. The 1-1 draw helped Barcelona win 3-2 on aggregate.
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Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez was the hero for Barcelona as he scored his team’s only goal that seemed to have put the match beyond Atletico’s reach.
However, Kevin Gameiro brought his side back in contention after scoring a goal seven minutes before the final whistle. Barcelona held out in the injury time to book their place in the final. Barcelona had won the first leg 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon.
The encounter became more dramatic after three players were sent off in the ill-tempered game. Suarez was one of the two Barcelona players who were given marching orders, the other being Sergi Roberto.
Atletico’s Yannick Carrasco was also shown a second yellow card 21 minutes from time.
Suarez wasn’t amused about the second yellow card. “It makes me laugh because it was like he (the referee) wanted to do it,” an angry Suarez told Gol Television.
“We need to see if we can appeal the second yellow because it isn't even a foul, but we already know how these things go.”
Despite the loss, Atletico coach Diego Simeone was happy with his team’s performance.
“We are out of the competition but have our heads held high and the strength that we have three fantastic months (ahead),” said Simeone.
“Hopefully we can maintain what we showed against them in the second-half the other day and during the 90 minutes today.”
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