Ademola Lookman grabbed headlines once again with another scintillating performance as Atletico Madrid thrashed Barcelona 4-0 in their Copa del Rey semifinal first leg clash on Thursday night, SportPremi reports.
The Super Eagles winger who joined the club in a €40 million deal from Atalanta during the winter transfer window, scored once again and set up another in the big win.
This performance followed a remarkable debut for the 28-year-old, who also scored and assisted Antoine Griezmann’s goal on his debut in Atletico Madrid’s 5-0 win over Real Betis in their quarterfinal clash last week.
Lookman shines once again for Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid and Barcelona clashed in a heavyweight battle in the second semifinal of the 2025-26 Copa del rey first leg on Thursday night at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
The hosts produced a brilliant first half performance in which they scored four times, while Barcelona were denied a goal in the second half by a record eight-minute check by VAR for offside.
The floodgates opened when the La Liga champions’ goalkeeper Joan Garcia tried to control a backpass from Eric Garcia, but the ball rolled under his foot and went into the net.
The home side doubled their advantage through a sharp finish by Griezmann, before Barca threatened through Fermin Lopez who struck the crossbar.
Jules Kounde then cleared off the line, before the big moment came as Lookman scored his second Atletico goal and his first at their home ground in the 33rd minute, following an assist from Julian Alvarez.
The pair combined for the fourth goal, although Lookman fed Alvarez this time, with the Argentine forward scoring his first goal in two months.
Pau Cubarsi thought he had pulled one back early in the second half, but the goal was ruled out after a lengthy review, before Eric Garcia was sent off late in the game for a rash challenge.
Atletico held on for a comfortable first leg win and now have one leg in the final where they will face either Athletic Bilbao or Real Sociedad.
What next for Atletico Madrid?
Atletico Madrid return to league action where they will face Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, hoping to end their poor form in the league.
Meanwhile, the second leg of the semifinal will hold at the Camp Nou on March 3, as they hope to hold their four-goal advantage and book their spot in the final.
