Diego Simeone Mocks Lamine Yamal as Atletico Madrid Routs Barcelona in Copa Del Rey

Yamal is known for his attitude ahead of matches. He has previously been involved in controversies, especially when it comes to Real Madrid, for "provoking" the Merengues before their meetings, even with teammates in Spain, such as Dani Carvajal, disapproving of said actions.

This time it was Simeone's turn to provoke the young Barcelona winger. Nothing is decided, as the second leg remains to be played in Catalonia on March 3, but it will be very difficult for Hansi Flick's team to come back from this scoreline.

Atletico Madrid Needed 45 Minutes To Demolish Barcelona

In the sixth minute, a nightmare unfolded for Joan Garcia. The ball was played back to the goalkeeper, who failed to control it. Cubarsi chased back and cleared it off the line. But Alvarez followed up and passed to Lookman, who smashed it in from close range. It appeared to have crossed the line before Cubarsi's intervention and was ruled a Joan Garcia own goal, as it touched his studs on the way in.

In the 14th minute, Musso unleashed Lookman with a long kick up the pitch. The ball was eventually worked to the right wing, and Molina slipped in Griezmann with a clever pass. The Frenchman advanced into the penalty area and tucked a delightful effort into the far bottom corner.

With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Atleti were tearing Barcelona apart. Some lovely link-up play on the right saw Simeone run to the byline. He passed to Alvarez, who, instead of shooting, played to Lookman. The Nigerian forward then fired a placed, first-time effort into the bottom corner. He struck the ball with power and conviction.

And in the 45th minute, just before the end of the first half, Atleti ripped through Barcelona at will. This time, Lookman teed up Alvarez, who smashed a thunderous effort into the net, and Joan Garcia had no chance of stopping it.