Barcelona Player Ratings v Atletico Madrid: Pau Cubarsi puts in best performance of the season

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona – The scoreboard still read 2-0 to Barcelona when the final whistle sounded, but the aggregate ledger showed 4-2 to Atlético Madrid, sending the visitors to the Copa del Rey final in Seville. Yet on a night when elimination was already all but certain, the hosts produced a performance that offered more encouragement than the raw outcome suggested, not least from 17-year-old centre-back Pau Cubarsi.

Cubarsi, who had looked short of confidence for much of the campaign, delivered the most authoritative 90 minutes of his senior career. Tasked first with neutralising Julián Álvarez and later Alexander Sørloth, he suffocated both with perfectly-timed interventions, the highlight a last-man lunge on Álex Baena that prevented a near-certain goal. His anticipation and willingness to step in rather than drop off set the tone for a back line that conceded little after Jules Koundé’s early departure.

Koundé’s injury after only 11 minutes forced a reshuffle that saw João Cancelo drop from wing-back to right-back. The Portuguese adapted seamlessly, driving forward in tandem with Lamine Yamal to create the majority of Barcelona’s danger and registering the assist for Marc Bernal’s opening strike.

Bernal, making his first start in a fixture of this magnitude, capped a mature display with a well-taken brace that briefly raised hopes of an unlikely comeback. Beyond the goals, his screening work limited Koke and Johnny Cardoso to sideways passes, allowing Pedri to orchestrate from deeper areas. The Canary Islander, labouring with cramp after the 75th minute, still managed two goal-saving tackles on Sørloth and won the penalty that Robert Lewandowski converted for the second goal.

Yamal tormented Atlético’s left flank all evening, skinning Matteo Ruggeri, Ademola Lookman and David Hancko with almost casual regularity. Both goals originated from his incision down the right, and every time Barcelona threatened a third it stemmed from his boots.

Elsewhere, the night was mixed. Andreas Christensen’s distribution was hurried before the interval, though he steadied after the break. Fermín López rarely imposed himself and departed midway through the second half, while Lewandowski endured a quiet first 45 minutes before growing into the contest. Ferran Torres, substituted earliest of the starters, spurned three presentable first-half chances and never imposed himself on the game.

From the bench, Iñigo Martínez replaced Koundé but lasted only an hour before an injury of his own reduced him to tears. Dani Olmo, Vitor Roque and Fermín’s replacement, Dani Rodríguez, were unable to alter the rhythm, with Roque caught offside twice in the closing stages as Atlético comfortably saw out the tie.

In the end, Barcelona bow out of the cup, but the evening belonged to Cubarsi, whose resurgence offered a rare shaft of light amid an otherwise gloomy deficit.